The Big Bang
by TDCSI
Summary: Post IM2; Things are getting back on track at Stark Industries and in Tony's life until a strange advasary appears and tries to tear down his empire, starting with him.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so this is what happens when my muse goes absolutely ballistic. My other ideas are filed away for the moment until I get this thing out of my head, and since I'm just throwing it out there, it hasn't been betaed, or anything like that I'm just going crazy here so bear with me if you plan on reading this. Which this came from several crazy nights of Iron Man 2 on Netflix and alcohol…nuff said.

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><p>The Big Bang<p>

"It's eight a.m.; the temperature in Malibu is 73 degrees…" Jarvis announced as he allowed the sunlight to enter the bedroom.

Tony groaned and rolled over. The sheets were tangled around his body and it took him a moment to pry himself free. Dressed in a pair of pajama pants, Tony headed for the bathroom. "Jarvis, where's Pepper?"

"Miss Potts is currently in her office at Stark Industries."

"Thanks." He finished up and returned to his room to dress in simple black jeans and button up shirt that hid the reactor in his chest. Only after the immediate assault from Ivan did they spend nights apart, but since their coming to terms with their feelings on the rooftop, Pepper has been sharing his bed.

The expo wasn't a total loss and some things were repaired and the expo was back to running smoothly. Tony was at Justin Hammer's hearing as he was brought to trial for breaking Ivan out of jail and harboring a criminal. He pleaded guilty and Tony grinned at him as he was led away. Hammer Industries was shut down after ordered to pay Stark Industries for the damage caused at the expo and a set amount to the civilians that were injured. Tony had Pepper take the money paid from Hammer to also help out civilian families that were hurt during Ivan's rampage.

Tony retreated to his workshop to observe his two reserve elements that he now used in lue of the palladium. There were still repairs being made to parts of the house since he and Rhodes had their fight at his birthday party. It wasn't his best moment he admitted, but at the time he was convinced he was going to be dead within a few days from palladium poisoning.

Now he was very much alive and healthy. Pepper eventually forgave him for not telling her he was dying, but it didn't come easy. Pepper was now making arrangements for Tony to reinstate himself CEO of Stark Industries and in the process was investigating legal pages since Tony and she were now involved and he wanted her to remain with the company. She listened to his insisting that he was the boss and could date whoever he wanted to date, but she wanted to make sure there would be no backlash from the board.

After looking over his damaged suits, he went to stand before the newest one that was constructed after the expo battle as that one was retired due to extensive damage. Tony clapped his hands together as he sat in his chair surrounded by several screens. They all came to life on command as Tony logged onto the server at his business. With a few more key strokes he had access to the web cam at Pepper's desk.

Tony smiled as the screen popped up and showed Pepper on the phone obviously in a deep conversation with someone. She glanced at the computer screen as it changed to show a live picture of Tony. He smiled and waved at her as if he was ten years old. He snapped his fingers and began playing music as he waited impatiently for her to get off the phone.

"Why am I not surprised?" Pepper simply stated.

"Oh, hey, about time, I've been waiting for like ever."

"It's been two minutes Tony."

"Yeah well, two minutes to me feels like thirty. So, I… I thought you quit?" He was still engaging the other screens while talking to her.

"I'm having the paperwork being drawn up as we speak, I'll bring it home tonight." She picked up her drink and took a sip.

"Ah, okay, who were you talking too? Cause it didn't look like it was anyone that had an issue with me per say. Was it personal? I bet it was personal. Who was it?"

"It was no one that concerns you." She suddenly became nervous under his interrogation.

"Really, because it looks like you're trying to hide something."

"Tony, God can you just drop it?"

He stopped his bantering and smiled. "Okay, well in that case can you pick up take out for dinner tonight?"

"Sure, what are you planning for the day?" Pepper was now thankful for the change in subject.

Tony thought for a minute. "Well, I haven't actually thought about the rest of the day, but I'm sure I can keep Jarvis out of trouble."

Pepper smiled and waved. "See you tonight."

He blew her a kiss as she cut off the connection. "Why would I be getting into trouble sir?" Jarvis asked his inventor.

Tony shook his head. "It wasn't meant like that Jarvis just ignore the comment." He looked around his shop and decided to do a bit of spring cleaning. "Jarvis, bring up all of my sketches I've done in the past year."

Pepper drove up towards Tony's Malibu mansion and as always at the gate were photographers stationed there just waiting to get a shot of Tony or Iron Man. She passed through the gate as they snapped pictures of her as she drove. She was surprised that they haven't begun speculating since she hasn't left the house at night in the past two weeks. Pepper parked her car and walked into the house. She knew that Jarvis would alert Tony of her arrival so instead of looking for him she just went about setting out their dinner she brought home. Just as she sat down and poured herself a glass of wine, Pepper heard the loud footfalls of Tony as he ran up the stairs and towards the dining room. He quickly sat down as she poured a glass for him.

"Thank you." He replied and took a sip. Tony was suddenly silent as he was thinking about saying what he had been considering while in his work shop. "So, are you staying over tonight?"

"Why, you don't want me to?"

"What? No, no, God no, I was just asking, hoping that you would, cause actually, I um, was doing some thinking earlier today, and well, um I was going to ask you about tonight. Or I guess I should say about you staying over so often when you should just, um you should just move in." She paused and gave him a somewhat shocked look. "That is I'd like you to move in with me, would you like to move in?"

Pepper couldn't help but smile as she thought about what he just said. Only a flustered Tony Stark says a million different versions of one simple question. "I'll think about it."

Tony seemed to sigh in relief at her answer. "I can deal with that."

After dinner Pepper cleaned up their dishes and she was surprised to see Tony attempting to help. "What are you doing?"

He glanced at her as he was putting their glasses in the sink. "Oh I thought I'd help you clean up. Am I doing it wrong or…?"

She laughed. "Boy, you are really making an effort aren't you?"

Tony saw that as an invitation and moved closer to pin Pepper between himself and the counter. He cupped her cheek and drew her in for a mind blowing kiss. "How am I doing?" he asked out of breath.

Pepper took several deep breaths herself. "It's a good start, but how do you intend to finish it?"

She squealed when Tony suddenly lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bedroom. He set her down on the bed and covered her body with his. Tony quickly moved in to kiss her as his hands roamed over her body. Pepper moaned at his touch and the fire she held for him ignited as he touched her intimately. With each other's help they were both naked and Tony was positioning himself to join them together. Pepper was speechless except for the deep moan she emitted as Tony made them one once again. He carried out their passion longer than he ever had with any other woman, and it was then the logic struck him like lightning and he stopped his movement and looked down at Pepper's closed eyes.

She opened her eyes moments after he stopped and the question was readable on her face before she spoke. "What's wrong?"

Tony's expression softened and he grinned. "I love you Pepper." The shock was evident on her face and he knew she must think it was one of those heat of the moment sentiments. "I do, it just hit me, my life sucks without you, and I can't function without knowing you'll always be there for me to lean on and help me through the hard times."

Pepper felt her eyes fill with tears that threatened to fall. "Tony…" She took a deep breath. "This all came to you while we are having sex?"

"Not sex, it could never be just sex with you." He had to think about his next sentence. "I'd like to call it making love." When the corner of Pepper's mouth rose in a half smile, Tony smiled and leaned back down to kiss her.

As he broke away his body continued to move causing Pepper to lose her breath. He moved slow and sensual, deliberately. Tony felt her grip his back as he began to push her to the edge. Pepper moaned and tried pulling to encourage him to move faster but Tony managed to keep his pace and as she fell off into the flood of ecstasy, she pulled him with him.

Tony buried his face in the crook of her neck and practically screamed as he succumbed to her. His body shuddered as Pepper clung to him, a thin sheen of sweat covering both of them. The exertion placed on his body seemed to temporarily paralyze him and for a moment he felt like he couldn't move. Eventually Tony pushed back on his arms and looked down at Pepper's stated expression. He smiled knowing that he brought her to such a state and leaned down to kiss her.

Pepper opened her eyes and looked into his. "I love you too Tony." He moved down and kissed her again. They eventually separated and fell asleep in each other's arms.

As usual Pepper woke and climbed out of a snoring Tony's hold to get ready for work. She picked out a dress from the several she had hanging in his closet, and her unmentionables from the drawer he told her she could use. A smile crept across her face as she turned back to look at him. He was sincerely trying and she didn't doubt the fact that he loved her. She retreated to the bathroom and quickly showered and dressed.

"Jarvis, would you open the shades." She knew they weren't truly shades, more like a digital window tint, but they were shades to her. The windows lightened and she could see the days light beginning to show over the ocean. Pepper kneeled on the bed and kissed Tony's cheek. He groaned at her contact. "Come on Tony, we've got to both be at the office today." She stood and moved to his closet.

Tony mumbled something incoherently and Pepper just laughed. He groaned loudly and rolled over onto his back. His eyes peered open and he glanced out the window. "It's still dark outside."

"No it's not." She pulled out a gray suit with a navy shirt that matched her dress perfectly. "I need you to sign the paperwork for your reinstatement; we have a meeting with legal at nine, and a press conference at ten."

"What in the hell is the press conference for?"

"Announcing that you are once again CEO." She reached out and pulled him to sit on the edge of the bed. "The meeting with legal is so we can sign a piece of paper that says we are in a relationship that won't affect the company, and that I won't sue you for breaking my heart."

Tony cocked his head to the side and grinned. "I don't think I could break your heart."

"Do you want me to count all the times you have broken my heart?"

"Duly noted." Tony smiled at her. "I'm sorry."

Pepper leaned down and kissed him. "You're forgiven."

With a groan expressing his irritation at getting out of bed before daybreak, Tony headed for the shower as Pepper went down to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. She turned on the flat screen on the wall and watched as the news was commenting on the speculations surrounding the press conference at Stark Industries that morning. Several of the anchors were talking about how she was unable to keep control of the expo and dragging up some of Tony's antics and how she was unable to control him.

Tony cleaned up, dressed, and was downstairs in a short period of time. Jarvis had estimated his time in getting prepared for the day and as Tony walked into the small kitchen, the coffee maker had just finished preparing his morning brew. He went to sit down next to Pepper and glanced at the TV. "You know they are full of shit right?"

Pepper grinned. "Maybe, but they make it seem like it was my fault that Justin lost control at the expo. I'm the one who had him arrested." Her temper flared causing to Tony to smile. "What?"

"Are you sure that you want to quit? Cause you have the fire and drive to keep things in order. I mean you're able to keep me in order." Tony suddenly sat up straighter as an idea hit him. "That's it, I've got it."

"What?"

He grabbed her hand. "Come on let's go."

"Tony!" Pepper allowed him to drag her out to his car and she climbed into the passenger seat as Tony got in behind the wheel and brought the car to life.

Tony raced out of the gates not allowing the few photographers to get in any decent pictures and pointed the car towards Stark Industries. He parked the car in front of the main entrance and climbed out. Tony helped Pepper out and grabbed her hand leading her into the large building.

"Good morning Mr. Stark, Miss. Potts." The woman behind the large desk in the foyer greeted them.

"Hi, um I need the people form legal in my office, or her office I guess, ASAP." He proceeded to pull Pepper towards the elevators.

"Right away sir."

Once inside the confining lift Pepper finally spoke. "What's going on Tony?"

He moved quickly and pinned her against the wall and placed a solid kiss to her lips silencing her. "It's a great idea, just trust me."

They were only alone in the large office for several minutes before there was a knock on the door. "Miss. Potts, the legal team are here."

"Send them in." Tony ordered. "Good, umm, so I know we were going to sign some papers about me and Pepper dating and working together, but I want to amend some things a little bit."

Pepper's jaw dropped in shock. "Tony..." She fell back into the chair.

He held up his hand. "No Pep, it's okay I know what I'm doing. I want a back door clause in there that states should our relationship advance…" Tony turned a winked at her. "…that Pepper would be made co-CEO of Stark Industries." He looked over the two men as they glanced at each other. "Is that going to be a problem gentlemen?"

"No sir, it shouldn't be. Give us an hour to get the new papers drawn up."

"Great." Tony watched as the two men leave and turned back to a stunned Pepper. He smiled as he kneeled next to her. "Pepper?"

"I…I…"

Tony grinned. "I'm not saying anything just yet, but I'd like to eventually breech the subject. I mean it's not like we need to date for years to get to know each other, you probably know more about me than I know about me, and as for you, well I know what I need to know, and…"

"Tony." She interrupted him before he rambled any further. "Yes."

"Yes what?" He looked at her confused.

"Yes." Pepper repeated.

Tony narrowed his eyes as he thought for a minute then it hit him and his eyes widened. "Yes?"

"Yes."

He stood and pulled her to her feet as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "When, now?"

Pepper laughed. "No not now, let's give it a few months or so."

"Are you sure, 'cause I can throw together a party in a matter of hours?"

She couldn't help but shake her head at his ambition. "One step at a time big boy."

"Mmmm, I love it when you stroke my ego." Tony pulled her close for another kiss.

They made it through the press conference purposefully neglecting to announce that they were starting a relationship, since it was suddenly accelerated to warp speed that morning. Tony answered several questions to the press indicating why the move, and he exposed the fact that he had done it when he learned the palladium in his chest was killing him, and that while working to find a suitable replacement developed a new element that his father discovered years ago, but didn't have the technology to synthesize it. And said element was now keeping him alive with no side effects.

After the press conference Pepper went to finish up some business laving Tony alone in his office. He stood staring out the window as the television provided background noise. News stations were in a buzz over the sudden revelations that took events that morning. "Mute." The television went silent. Tony moved to sit behind the desk. Now bored out of his mind waiting for more papers to be delivered by Pepper, Tony paged the secretary outside.

"Yes Mr. Stark."

"Send Happy up here, and get me the number for a quality moving company." He grinned.

"Right away sir."

In a few minutes a knock on the door echoed and Happy entered. "Just the person I wanted to see. I'm bored and full of pent up energy." The other man grinned and they both walked out.

"The phone number sir." The secretary held out a slip of paper. Happy took it from her.

"Thanks, and tell Pepper to just bring the papers by the house and that I'm going to be on Happy time." He snatched the paper from Happy's hands.

"Yes Mr. Stark." The secretary responded

They walked side by side to Tony's waiting Audi. "You drive." He pulled his phone and dialed the number. "Oh, and we need to swing by Pepper's apartment first."

After their pit stop at Pepper's place, Happy pulled up and stopped in front of Tony's mansion. Happy went straight to the locker room while Tony spoke with Jarvis to arrange the details on Pepper's apartment and when the expected visitors would be arriving.

Tony quickly changed into a pair of sweat pants and hoodie. Happy was already putting on his pads when Tony climbed into the ring. They both swung their arms around to warm up and Tony noticed that Happy didn't have on the torso pad. "Where's the other pad?"

"Oh, Natalie, or whatever her name is, was giving me lessons last week so I'm fairly confident I can get the best of you."

"Oh, can you now?" Tony moved towards the other man and engaged him. "Jarvis, a little Happy ass kicking music if you please."

'Thunderstruck' echoed into the room and a bell chimed. Happy took a swing hoping to catch Tony off guard but Tony ducked and swung striking Happy in his middle. Happy groaned as he stepped back.

Tony was shuffling his feet. "Wanna keep going?"

Happy stood up and approached Tony a little more reserved. Tony landed several more solid punches sending his friend back into the ropes and he moved quickly and punched Happy's torso repeatedly until the man slumped down to the mat.

Tony raised his gloved hands. "TKO, and the crowd goes wild." He danced around the mat as Happy remained sitting.

"How about taking on a worthy adversary?"

Tony stopped and turned towards the voice. "Let me recharge my batteries."

"Your batteries don't need recharging." Col Rhodes smiled and disappeared into the small locker room to change. Between himself and Happy they had clothes stored away at Tony's home for occasions such as this. Rhodes walked up to the mat and pulled on a pair of fingered boxing gloves that matched Tony's except they were black in color. He was dressed in sweats and a tank top. "Wanna wear the head gear?"

Tony shedded his hoddie to reveal a t-shirt allowing the reactors glow to shine through. "Naw, let's make it as realistic as possible. Jarvis please put on the song I have saved just for this occasion" He put a mouth guard into his mouth and began shuffling his feet.

Rhodes stood opposite in the ring and held out his glove. Tony moved to tap his glove indicating it was a friendly battle, but Tony's ego would always win over. He nodded to Happy who rang the bell. The music started and Happy shook his head as he instantly noticed the significance of the theme song to 'Mortal Kombat'.

Tony quickly moved towards his friend and threw the first punch. Rhodes blocked it and landed a solid hit to Tony's side. Happy stood back as the two men proceeded to box which then quickly led to kickboxing.

Pepper entered the house with several other employees from Stark. "Jarvis, where is Mr. Stark." The computer remained quiet and she was getting crazy looks from the three people with her. "Jarvis." Her voice emitting her seriousness.

"Mr. Stark is in the gym with Col Rhodes."

Even though he was a computer Pepper could make out the restraint in his voice. "Oh, lord." She indicated for the employees to follow her.

The four entered the gym as Happy was cheering for Tony as he continued to block and avoid the punches and kicks from Rhodes. Music was playing loudly as the two sparred but when Rhodes landed a solid punch to Tony's face sending him backwards Pepper then saw the blood.

She rushed over to Happy and pushed him aside and rang the bell several times. "What the…?" Both Tony and Rhodes stopped and turned to see her standing there in shock. They were speechless and could only stay frozen as if their mother had caught them doing something they knew was forbidden. Their chests heaved for oxygen to replenish their exhausted bodies.

Pepper sighed. "Oh my God! Look at you guys!"

Tony looked at Rhodes and he looked at Tony. "Yeah, you gotta little something…" Tony indicated on his face where Rhodes had blood running down his cheek.

"Yeah, you got a little bit here yourself." Rhodes fingered above his eye.

"Enough for the day, please." She begged.

Tony climbed out of the ring as Rhodes and Happy went back to the locker room to get cleaned up. "Hey, at least we didn't destroy the house."

Pepper closed her eyes and counted to ten before opening them. His face had several cuts emitting blood and his left eye was already beginning to swell. A sudden laugh shook Pepper. "You should see yourself."

"As long as he looks worse I'm okay with it." He smiled back and then realized they weren't alone. "What's this?"

"Well, since you mentioned last month that I should have an assistant and Natalie is well, not Natalie, I thought I'd bring the candidates here for you to meet as well seeing as they will be coming here frequently and accompanying us when we travel for the company." She held out her arm as the three employees stood fast and smiled at Tony.

"I assume those are portfolios?" Tony asked as he took off his gloves. "You first", he pointed at the first woman in line. "Have you seen theses?" he asked Pepper.

"Yes, that's why I have narrowed it to these three." She had explained to the potential assistants how Tony was but any description seems gentle compared to the man.

Tony took the folder and looked through it. "Mmm…impressive; four languages…" He continued to read through before shutting the binder and handing it back to the woman. "Thank you, next." He went through the next woman's folder as he had the first. "Well you are both certainly qualified for the position, which one do you like best?" he inquired to Pepper.

"There's one more left." She pointed out the obvious.

"Yeah, but Pepper a man assistant? No offense." He told the remaining candidate.

"Give me your folder Ryan." Pepper held out her hand and the man stepped forward. She took the folder and opened it. "Actually he's my pick."

Tony narrowed his eyes at her. "He would be." He opened the folder and looked over it. The man had all of the qualifications as the two female candidates except that he had one thing that the other two didn't possess. "You've got to be kidding me? Seriously?" Tony looked at the younger man and shut the folder. "You shouldn't be pushing paper for this company or assisting anyone." Ryan looked as if he was about to get fired. "Why the assistant position when you could be doing so much more?"

Ryan looked to Pepper and she smiled encouraging him to give his explanation to Tony. "Well, I was discharged months before 'don't ask, don't tell' was passed into law. The following week I was jumped by several men from my former squad outside of a bar. I sustained severe nerve damage to my dominant hand. I can still grip and write, but it gave me an itchy trigger finger so to speak. I was originally hired in weapons for testing, but when I almost killed someone I decided to transfer to a different department."

"Yeah, well I want you in R&D. You don't have to shoot, you'll still have paperwork to do, and it pays better than following my ass around all day and night." Tony saw the younger man's face light up. "Pepper, make it happen."

"Yes sir." She quickly responded.

Tony turned to her. "This was a setup."

"Pick an assistant." She stated ignoring his words.

He smiled at her and turned back towards the two waiting women. "Katie, congratulations. You two will have to wait a minute and Happy can take you back to the office.

Ryan held out his hand. "Thank you sir."

Tony shook it. "You're very welcome. What's your last name?"

"Sanders, Ryan Sanders."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Sanders. Pepper make sure he's on the permanent party list." Tony grinned and watched as Ryan and the other candidate were excused and walked back to the front of the house. Tony pointed at Katie and fingered her over.

"Don't do that, it's rude." Pepper commented. "Sorry about him, you'll get used to it." Tony began a stare down with the woman. "Jarvis, I'd like you to meet Katie Williams, she will be 'our' new assistant."

"Welcome Miss Williams." The AI responded.

Tony broke eye contact and turned back to Pepper. "Okay, well I'll leave her in your capable hands." He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"You stink, go take a shower." Pepper pushed him away.

He laughed. "Katie, I want a party tomorrow night with all the usual guests, DJ and such. You can handle that right?"

"Party, what?" Pepper was taken aback by his request.

"I want a party. Tomorrow night, make it happen Katie." Tony started walking away.

"I can't believe you're doing this to her." Pepper called out.

"It's called trial by fire Pepper." He disappeared down the hall.

Pepper sighed and looked at the new assistant. "Come on, I'll show you around and then where all the party planning information is."

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><p>So the plan is there for to be more. Possibly tonight. I've got to do a bit of Christmas shopping and have been procrastinating that for about a week. But after chores tonight I'll be back to writing, just watch.<p>

TDCSI


	2. Chapter 2

Okay here's another chapter for whoever may be reading this. I'm sure there's a few out there that are and I hope you are enjoying my little story here.

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Tony took his time in the shower and when through wrapped a towel around his waist and looked at his face in the mirror. He blew out a sigh as he looked at the several cuts and slight swelling over his left eye. He only hoped his friend had similar injuries. He finished drying off and dressed in simple clothes for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

"Mr. Stark, the movers are here." Jarvis informed him.

"Great, let them in." He rushed down stairs and met the same men he had at Pepper's apartment. "Okay, so ummm, everything but her clothes can go over this way. I guess we'll just stash her things in this room. I hardly use it anyway. As for her clothes you can put those in the master bedroom which is this way." He showed the movers where to put everything and went to find Pepper.

"Okay, so this is the only area of the house that for the time being that you won't have access to. If you have any questions you can ask Jarvis." Pepper walked by the staircase leading to Tony's workshop. "And you can always ask me…" She stopped as several people brining large boxes in from outside passed her. "What's this?" She stepped away from Katie. "Hey that's my couch!" The moving men stopped.

Tony rushed down the stairs towards her voice. "Hey, there you are beautiful."

"Tony, that's my couch. What's my couch doing here?" Pepper ranted at him.

"Yes, it is your couch."

Why is my couch here?"

"Well, since you and I discussed earlier some possible future plans, I decided that there's really no point in keeping your apartment, and before you ask I already took care of the remainder of the contract. Everything's been taken care of." He looked optimistic and hopes of not making her mad.

"Tony, you didn't even ask, you just broke into my place and had my things packed up and moved here!" She looked around as more of her belongings were brought into his house. She glanced over and noticed Katie standing there not sure of what to do. Pepper grabbed the sleeve on Tony's shirt. "Excuse us for a minute." She drug Tony behind her into the other room. "I can't believe that you would do something like this without my permission. I told you to give me some time with this moving in thing."

"Yeah, and I thought after our conversation in my office that you were ready to take that next step." Pepper's mouth dropped open at his comment. "Please Pepper, I need you here with me."

She looked at the floor for a moment but glanced up at his eyes. They were big and brown, and it was always hard for her to say no to his puppy dog appearance. She sighed. "Tony, everything has happened so fast and I…"

Tony's face fell. "Don't Pepper, please don't do this."

Once she realized what he was implying she shook her head and smiled. "Tony, that's not what I'm saying." She exhaled deeply. "Yesterday you asked who I was talking too." Tony nodded. "Well, I was talking to my mother. She and my father want to come visit for a few weeks since I told her that we would be around and not leaving for the month."

"Wait…your parents are coming here?" Tony's eyes grew larger.

"Yes, and I was going to have them stay at my place since I'm now staying here." She sighed and sat down leaving him standing in shock.

"Do they know?"

"What, about you?" He nodded. "Tony everyone knows you're Iron Man."

"No, I mean about us, do they know about us?" Pepper giggled at his question. "What?"

"You're Iron Man and you're worried if my parents know that we're dating." She laughed. "Are you scared about my parents not liking you?"

"No." He glanced down at her. "Okay, maybe. I've never been in a stable relationship and I want to keep it that way." He was honest with her.

Pepper smiled and stood. She softly kissed him. "Don't worry. I'll put them in one of the bedrooms here." Pepper walked away leaving Tony standing in shock. She returned to Katie as the movers finished. "Hey, do you guys want to make some extra money?" Several of the movers stopped and they all agreed and waited. Pepper turned to Katie. "So, Katie, want to have a little fun redecorating Mr. Stark's home?"

Tony inwardly groaned and decided to retreat to his workshop. Just as he sat down Jarvis spoke up. "Col Rhodes is on approach."

"Oh, is he bringing my suit back?" Tony stood and watched as his friend flew through the tunnel and landed softly in the middle of the shop. "It's about damn time Rhodey."

The helmet flipped back. "Yeah well, I thought maybe I could trade it off for one of your cars instead since mine's been destroyed."

Tony smiled. "Jarvis, get him out of the suit." He sat back and watched his friend freed from the confines of the metal suit. "Want to replace those guns? I got some really cool stuff that would work."

Rhodes smiled. "Girlfriend problems already?"

"New assistant, girlfriend moved in, and now her parents are coming." Rhodes laughed at his friend. "Don't laugh it's not funny. Oh, I'm throwing a party tomorrow night, you should come."

"Are you sure, last time I attended one of your parties we destroyed your house." Rhodes approached the reassembled suit and stood next to Tony. "Why a party now?"

"Well, it's kind of a double meaning type of a party. I want to have a party, and it's sort of an engagement party." He glanced over at his friend.

Rhodes turned to face Tony. "Are you serious man? You asked Pepper to marry you?"

"Not in so many words, but yeah. And before you ask there's nothing planned yet. Pepper's in charge of everything that involves that."

"Oh so it gives her time to come to her senses and dump your ass." Rhodes laughed and Tony shook his head. "Just kidding man, I'm happy for you. She's the only one that can tolerate you, even better than me."

Tony shrugged and coughed. "Well, anyway…" Tony walked around the former Mark 2. "So, what do you want to do with this thing?"

Rhodes looked at Tony and smiled. "Seriously?"

"Sure why not?" He walked around and stood next to Rhodes. "Jarvis, get me a scan of Rhodey's suit." The AI began scanning the damaged gray suit.

Pepper and Katie finished arranging her furniture within Tony's home, with help of the movers. She gave them each a thousand dollars in cash for their help. They left more than happy for helping. Pepper ordered food to be delivered to the mansion.

Katie finished papers for Pepper while she went to take a shower. When the food arrived Katie took it upon herself to set out the flatware and get the table organized. "Jarvis"

"Yes Miss Williams."

"Would you please alert Mr. Stark that dinner is ready."

"Indeed ma'am."

Pepper returned to hear laughing at the table. Tony and Rhodes were talking to his new assistant. She approached the table and sat down next to Tony. "Hey."

"Oh hey baby, we were doing a little reminiscing." Tony picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles.

"Reminiscing?" She picked up her fork and looked at Rhodes as he giggled.

"Yeah, about my last party." Tony watched as she rolled her eyes and dropped her fork. "No no no, it's not like that. Don't worry, I'll never do that again?"

"Which part, gets smashed in your suit, shoot champagne bottles, or get in a fight and destroy the house?" She glared at him.

Tony could only look at her. "You're beautiful."

Pepper scoffed. "Please, just…can we put that behind us?"

After dinner Rhodes volunteered to drive Katie to her home. "Wait, you came in your suit?"

"Yeah, remember, you're going to fix it for me, and I'm going to borrow one of your cars. I was thinking the convertible." Rhodes grinned at his friend.

"Not cool dude. You can take the hard top; it's the gray one, like your personality." Tony retaliated.

"Ha ha ha, is this guy funny or what?" Rhodes held out his hand to Katie and they left.

"I like her." Tony said to no one as he retreated to wherever Pepper was at the moment. "Hey Pepper, I was going to ask you…" He glanced around the living room and noticed her sitting on the couch. "Pepper?" he walked over and sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"

She held up her phone. "My parents will be here tomorrow afternoon."

Tony pursed his lips. "The party." Pepper only nodded. "Well I was going to announce our relationship, but if you would rather keep that on the down-low for a bit longer, I can do that." He picked up her hand. "I promise to be on my best behavior."

The next evening people began pulling up to the mansion around seven. Pepper was getting nervous as her parents were not here yet and there were about fifty people trying to get to Tony's house. She stood outside waiting to see Happy pull up and eventually he made it to the garage. Pepper followed the car as Happy secured it and collected their luggage from the trunk.

"Thank you Happy. Mom, Dad, how was your flight?" She helped her mother out of the back seat.

"It was fine dear." Gloria Potts said. "Of course it would have been better had our flight not been delayed, and then we missed our connection."

"They never did tell us what the problem was. How's my little Pepper?" Ken Potts moved to hug his daughter.

Pepper smiled. "I'm good Dad."

"What's with all of the cars and people outside?" Gloria asked.

"Ah yes, well Tony wanted a party, so what Tony wants, Tony gets." She explained.

"And you're seeing this character?" Her Dad spoke.

Pepper noticed Happy close his eyes. "Yes, well if you want, I can just show you to your room. I'm sure the party will die down around midnight or one."

"Well we haven't really had a good time in a while Ken. Maybe we should mingle?" Pepper's mom offered. Now it was Pepper's turn to close her eyes and will the night to be over.

"Yes, I think there's nothing better than meeting this man who has smitten our daughter when he's at his worst." Ken offered.

Happy followed them to the room and set their things down. Ken and Gloria then followed their daughter back down to where the party was in full swing. Music played, people were drinking and dancing. They kept close to Pepper as she parted the crowd to where she assumed Tony was. She just followed the sound of people chanting Iron Man.

Tony was standing in front of his DJ with a crowd of people in front of him. "I promised Pepper I'd behave tonight and not blow anything up." He then noticed her. "Speaking of Pepper." Tony walked over and in front of everyone grabbed her, spun her around and dipped her. Without a second thought he kissed her. Everyone in the room could tell it wasn't just a friendly type kiss, but one of passion. Tony stood back up and smiled at her. "My girlfriend!" Tony yelled at the crowd as he pointed to Pepper. They applauded in response.

Pepper smiled and waved at the group of people standing next to them. As she ushered him to her parents, the group went back to socializing and dancing. "Tony, I'd like you to meet my parents, Ken and Gloria."

Trying to make a good impression Tony held out his hand and shook her father's as if he was finalizing a business deal. "Mr. Potts, pleasure to meet you." He then picked up Gloria's hand and gently kissed the back of her hand. "Mrs. Potts."

"They wanted to meet you immediately." Pepper noted hoping he would get the hint.

"I see, well there's plenty of food and drink, make yourselves at home." He offered.

Suddenly the music died and everyone stopped and looked around. Even Tony looked back to the DJ who just held up his hands. "Excuse me, but I need a word with you Mr. Stark." Jarvis spoke up once it was quiet.

"I'll be right there." Tony responded and the music picked up where it had left off and the crowd began dancing once again. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." He gave Pepper a kiss on the cheek before retreated downstairs.

"What was that voice?" Ken asked.

"That was Jarvis, he's a computer that Tony invented. Jarvis runs the house. I'll introduce you to him tomorrow." Pepper took her parents over so they could get something to eat from the vast array of finger food items.

Tony sat behind his computers, the screens already online showing Tony the video message. He watched the video from the news online that was forwarded to him by the DOD. It showed a weapons depot in North Korea moving missiles that had Stark industries stamped on them. Tony ran his hand over his goatee and pursed his lips. "What do they want me to do Jarvis?"

"There was no actual message; it just said 'FYI, we found more of your missiles'." Jarvis explained.

He looked at the video again. "Jarvis, how's the War Machine suit coming?"

"It's at 90% capacity."

"Better than nothing. Assemble the suits." He quickly went upstairs and collected his friend. He looked for Pepper as he walked but she was nowhere to be seen. "DOD found more of my missiles in North Korea and sent me an anonymous video."

"What, they just want you to take care of it without an order?" Rhodes asked as he approached his suit.

"I guess. It's going to get hectic, wanna join me, partner?" Rhodes smiled and stepped into his suit. "I need to say goodbye to Pepper first." Tony approached his suit and in less than a minute he was Iron Man.

They both flew outside through the car tunnel and looped around the house. A party goer saw them and screamed 'Iron Man' at the top of her lungs. Everyone was now looking outside. Pepper even looked and stepped out onto the balcony as Tony and James landed.

The helmet retracted back and Tony wrapped his arms around her. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Pepper was quick to kiss him. "Be careful." He smiled. "Love you."

Tony stepped back away from her. "Love you too." The helmet clanged back into place and the eyes lit up. He looked up and the suit took off followed closely by War Machine.

She watched as the lights from their suits disappeared from sight. Pepper felt a shiver run through her body and she went back inside. "So, does he disappear often?"

"Dad, please." Pepper returned to her seat next to her mother.

With Tony gone most of the crowd was gone by midnight, and once the house was quiet Pepper retreated to the bedroom she shared with Tony. She hugged his pillow and inhaled the scent it still held on it. "Where is he Jarvis?"

"I was instructed no to tell you exactly where, but I can tell you what he's doing."

"That works." She held the pillow tighter.

"Very well. Currently Mr. Stark and Col Rhodes are engaging multiple targets." Pepper closed her eyes as Jarvis spoke. "He's moved in on an arsenal of Stark Industry missiles." She sighed as another batch of her company's product ended up in the wrong hands. "Mr. Stark has successfully destroyed the arsenal. He and Col Rhodes and taking off and beginning an easterly course."

Pepper grinned knowing he was on his way home. "How long before he gets home?"

"At their current speed it will take approximately 4 hours."

"How fast are they going?" she asked rhetorically knowing how long it takes a plane to get across the pacific.

"Do you really want to know?" Jarvis asked before telling her that her boyfriend was traveling at the speed of sound with only a metal suit on.

"No, I suppose I don't." She snuggled into the pillow and eventually fell asleep.

It was after five am when Tony and Rhodes landed. They were exhausted as they exited the suits. "Can I crash in an extra bed?" Rhodes asked as they headed up the stairs.

"Sure, head that way, it's safe away from Pepper's parents." Tony pointed as he watched his friend sulk off towards a bed. He then headed for his. Tony opened the door and could just see Pepper's sleeping form. He sighed and shed his clothes before climbing into bed behind her. His arms went around her body and he was quickly asleep.

It was approaching eight am on a Saturday, and Jarvis knew that his creator was exhausted and needed sleep. The rest of the house was quiet with the exception of Pepper's parents. They were up and wandering into the kitchen. Jarvis started the coffee. "Good morning, there's fresh coffee brewing, Andrea is running late but since Mr. Stark is sleeping in, I doubt he will care. She can prepare whatever you desire for breakfast."

Ken stopped as Gloria poured two cups of coffee. "How about the newspaper?"

"I'm afraid we only receive digital copies of the daily paper." Jarvis spoke as he turned on several television screens. "You can watch whatever you desire."

"That's just fine." Gloria spoke as she sat down at the small table in the large kitchen.

Pepper woke and felt arms secured around her. She grinned and turned gently to look at Tony's face. For the moment it was peaceful, but once he woke up he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. She pried herself from his hold and kissed his cheek before climbing out of bed. Pulling on a satin robe that he had purchased for her, Pepper descended the stairs and could smell the coffee and hear her parents speaking. She pulled her hair back and poured her a cup of coffee. "Where's Andrea?"

"She's coming up the drive now."

"Thank you Jarvis."

"Well, look who's finally up." Ken said before sipping at his coffee. Pepper rolled her eyes and sat down.

Gloria patted her arm. "Ignore your father dear, he's still skeptical of Tony."

"I figured." Pepper greeted Andrea as she began moving around the kitchen to prepare everyone breakfast.

Tony tried to stretch and felt he calf cramp. He groaned and reached down to ease the discomfort but eventually had to stand and walk it out. Heavily he sat back on the bed and placed his head in his hands. He rubbed the exhaustion off his face and sat up. "Fill the tub for me will ya Jarvis."

"Yes sir." The AI responded and began doing what he was asked.

Tony stood and walked into the bathroom ignoring his reflection in the mirror. He relieved himself before climbing into the large tub and settling into one of the seats it contained.

"Would you like me to start the water jets?" Jarvis asked.

"That would be great, thanks Jarvis." Tony eased back letting the messaging motion of the water beat the soreness and exhaustion from his body.

Pepper decided that she had listened to enough of her father's rants about the government and went upstairs to check on Tony. Her feet stopped as she saw the empty bed. She then could hear the jets of the whirlpool going and walked into the large bathroom. As she approached the tub she could see his hair but he wasn't moving. Pepper knew that if anything were to happen to him that Jarvis would alert her immediately.

She leaned over the tub and looked at his face. "Is he sleeping?"

"Mr. Stark has been asleep in the tub for around ten minutes now." Jarvis answered her question.

Pepper stripped and slipped into the water. "Give us some privacy will you Jarvis." The door closed to the bed room and the windows looking outside from the tub frosted over. She closed the distance between them and stopped in front of him. Her hands found his knee and slowly slid up his thigh. She continued to watch his face to judge his reaction. Her hand eventually found its target and she began to pleasure him.

Tony heard her talking to Jarvis when she entered but decided to play opossum just to see how far she would take things, and at this point he decided she was determined to go all the way. He remained still and kept his breaths slow and even.

She had a feeling he was now awake and decided to take things to another level and so Pepper moved to straddle his hips. Her hands guided him to enter her as she sat down. A deep sigh escaped her and Tony couldn't resist anymore and his mouth fell open. "Oh God." His hands moved to grip her hips and he opened his eyes looking up into her blue ones.

"I knew you were faking." Pepper pointed at him.

"Can you blame a guy? Now come on, let's get this ride moving." He pulled on her hips causing Pepper to laugh as she started moving.

They both rushed to finish, and ended out of breath clinging to each other. Pepper kissed him deeply. "Come on, breakfast is almost done." She extracted herself from Tony's hold and the tub.

"It's Saturday already?" Tony asked as he followed Pepper to the towel rack.

"Yes, it is." She quickly dried off and went into the bedroom to change.

Tony glanced at his reflection in the mirror. "You stud." He dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a black button up shirt, before heading down.

Andrea had plates set on the table as she presented the food she had prepared. Pepper refilled her coffee and sat down to look at the television.

'_This just in, we now have footage from the events that took place early this morning in North Korea. We've already heard the announcement from the White House indicating that they had no involvement in the events that took place there.'_

Tony stepped into the now quiet kitchen and poured a cup of coffee for himself and turned to look at the screen that the others in the room were glued to.

'_It's hard to tell in this footage but again what we do know is that a North Korean arms depot was attacked. Apparently they had just finished a large missile deal and were moving their newly purchased items when the attack happened. Okay, I'm getting word from our video department that they have isolated a frame.'_ The screen changed to show the familiar red and gold suit with glowing eyes and chest as it took aim at something. _'That's Iron Man! We have just learned that it was Iron Man that took out this depot…'_

"Mute." Tony spoke as he moved around to sit at the table next to Pepper. She smiled and took his hand in hers. "Can we eat?"

"Sure." Pepper responded. Her mother also smiled and acknowledged the tension and tried to avoid it.

Ken sat still and just let his eyes stare into Tony. While he tried to avoid it he couldn't and Tony noticed the challenge from the older man. He locked eyes with him and for a moment they just had a staring contest.

Ken was the first to speak. "You think this is funny?"

"No, I don't."

"You are putting yourself in the crosshairs by doing this. I'm a former marine; I know what it's like."

"Good then maybe you can show a little appreciation." Tony fired back.

Both Pepper and Gloria sat back and knew that once Ken was fired up there was no stopping him.

"Are you trying to start a personal war with the world?"

"No, that's not the po.."

"Looks like it to me, and you've got my daughter standing by your side with a target on her now." Ken spoke his voice riding.

"Nothing's going to happen to Pepper." Tony not spoke with venom in his voice as he was challenged in his own home. "Yes, I will admit that things with Iron Man may complicate some things, but I love your daughter, and I'd die before I let anything happen to her." Tony's chest heaved as his anger rose.

Gloria reached over and put a hand on her husband's arm. "Ken, drop it, please."

Pepper remained silent as she watched Tony hash it out verbally with her father. She had never seen anyone stand up to him as Tony just had and it shocked her. While keeping his eyes locked on the current target, Tony reached under the table and put a reassuring hand on Pepper's leg.

They finished breakfast in near silence. Only Pepper and her mother seemed to talk. Tony had the channel changed to a different channel but he couldn't escape the news that Iron Man had destroyed the depot. He quickly finished eating and took his cup of coffee outside to stand on the large decking that looked over the ocean.

"An intruder has just breeched the perimeter." Jarvis announced.

"Where?" Tony asked turning towards the trees.

"They are approximately 1000 yards along the beach."

"Can you get a threat assessment?"

"Not from this distance." Jarvis replied.

"How about line of sight?" Just as Tony got the question out he felt the impact of the bullet and it threw him back wards onto the cement.

"Tony!" Pepper saw him fly backwards and was quickly to her feet and running out towards him.

Jarvis locked the door preventing her from going out and he set off a general alarm waking Rhodes. The man was out of bed in an instant and down in the main area where Pepper was trying to get outside to Tony. "What's going on?"

"You need to suit up sir." Jarvis instructed and Rhodes rushed downstairs where Jarvis had War Machine waiting. "There's a sniper half a mile along the beach."

"What about Tony?" He asked as his suit came online.

"For the moment he's fine. The bullet impacted the arc reactor; he can survive ten minutes without a replacement. Uploading coordinates to the shooters position." Rhodes took off and headed towards the target.

Tony tried crawling towards Pepper as she banged on the glass but the sparking reactor was burning his chest. He managed to pull the broken reactor from his chest and made it to the door. Jarvis unlocked the door and Pepper and her father pulled Tony inside. He gasped for air and pointed to the empty hole in his chest. "New one."

"Okay." Pepper stood and rushed down to his work shop. Jarvis aided her in finding the spare reactors he had created. She hurried back upstairs where her mother was trying to comfort Tony. His breathing was getting ragged as she set the reactor in his chest. It didn't lock in and make contact. Tony tried hitting the chest piece to engage but his arms already felt like jello as his heart slowed in the throes of panic.

Ken moved over and used his fist to hit the reactor hard enough to engage it. The arc whirred as it connected and glowed brightly. Tony took several big breathes as his heart beat sped up under the reactors power. His eyes were large with fear and panic as he finally got control of his body. "Thank you."

Pepper leaned over and hugged him. She then with her father helped Tony to his feet. "Don't you ever do that to me again?"

"Me? You think I wanted to be shot." He argued back.

"Col Rhodes is on approach with the shooter." Jarvis interrupted.

"Stay in here." Tony instructed and walked outside picking up the now powerless reactor. He looked at it as it held the 50 caliber bullet he was hit with. Rhodes landed with a man in one hand and his rifle in the other. Tony walked over to the man that now had his hands tied up and appeared to have taken a punch or two from Rhodes. He looked over the man. "Who hired you?"

The man smiled and spit blood on Tony. There was almost no hesitation as Tony landed a right hook across the man's face. Pepper and her parents watched on from inside. The man remained standing and looked at Tony again. "You can't touch me."

"Oh really?" Tony swung again with his left and struck the man. "There's something you're not getting here. You took a shot at me, and guess what; I'm judge, jury, and executioner here. So unless you were acting alone, which I doubt, since you don't look smart enough to orchestrate such a precision strike."

The man let blood run out of his mouth freely and looked at the man before him. "How did my shot not kill you?"

Tony held up the reactor. "You shot the chest piece, not me. I can live without it for some time. Now, who's behind this?" the man hesitated and looked around. "Break his leg Rhodey."

"No, wait…" The man pleaded and got down on his knees. "I was hired by Justin Hammer."

"That man won't quit will he?" Rhodes said.

Tony kneeled. "He's in jail."

"I was contracted before the expo disaster. He paid me a hundred grand as a retainer under specific instruction that if something were to happen to him and you survived that I was to take you out. He told me by shooting the thing in your chest you would be instantly killed."

"Normally a head shot is the best insurance." Tony stood. "Jarvis, alert the authorities about our friend here. I'm sure the FBI will be more than interested in what he has to say."

Rhodes took the shooter around to the front of the house to wait for the proper authorities, while Tony went inside. "Well…" Pepper asked.

"He was hired by Justin Hammer." He explained and Pepper took in a stunned breath and stepped back. "What?" She shook her head. "Pepper, what is it? Please you have to tell me." Tony gripped her arms with his hands preventing her to retreat further.

"When I had Justin arrested at the expo, he told me that it wasn't over, and that he'd get me eventually." Tears formed in her eyes.

Tony released an angered breath and pulled Pepper into a strong embrace. "He's not getting anywhere near you, understand?" She nodded into his chest. Tony ran his hands up and down her back in hopes of calming her. He knew he'd be seeing Justin Hammer again.

* * *

><p>Well, wasn't that exciting. I kinda like Justin Hammer. I mean that as I'm glad he didn't die in the movie so I can kill him, muahahahahahaha…<p>

TDCSI


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, I've finally cranked out another chapter. This thing is going to get out of control quickly according to my brain. Too many ideas running around and I can't stop them. Thanks for reading.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

Tony went outside to greet the FBI agents that arrived to take the shooter into custody. He explained what had happened and handed them the mini digital recording Jarvis made of the conversation held with the man. Rhodes walked back down towards the workshop to remove his suit.

After the feds left, Tony went back inside and noticed Pepper sitting quietly on the couch. The situation was foreign to him as he approached her. He sat on the coffee table in front of her and sighed. "Pepper, don't let him get to you."

She looked up and smiled bravely. "I won't."

Tony smiled. "Good, let's go out to Sunset tonight. Your parents can come as well."

"Good." She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. "Oh, and there's this." Pepper gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "That's for scaring the crap out of me."

"I said I was sorry."

"I know, but I just want to make sure." She couldn't hold her smile back any longer. "I thought you wanted to have the secret identity that only your girlfriend knew so that she could sit at home and worry about you while you were on missions?"

"Yes, but the whole world knows along with her, so she shouldn't be too concerned." Tony grinned at her.

With a quick kiss he disappeared to his workshop. Rhodes had just stepped out of the fabricated Mark II when Tony entered. "So, that was an exciting morning."

Tony pulled the dead arc reactor from his pocket. "Yeah, well if you'd seen what it takes to synthesize one of these babies you wouldn't think so." He sighed and tossed the useless chest piece on his desk. "So, how'd the suit go? Better stabilization?"

"Yeah, much better." Rhodes sat down in the arm chair near Tony's desk. He observed his friend as he stared at the four computer screens around him. "You okay?"

Tony sighed and sat back in his chair. "Something about this Justin Hammer thing isn't sitting so hot with me. Jarvis, run a background on the shooter from this morning."

"Right away sir."

"How's Pepper?" Rhodes asked as Tony ran his hands through his hair.

"Pepper? She's fine, why?"

"I don't know, she saw you get shot in the chest, confront your shooter only to find out that he's tied Justin Hammer. I guess I thought she'd be a bit upset." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, she did punch me in the arm." Rhodes laughed at Tony's admission. "Yeah, well it didn't hurt." For a moment Tony went quiet and just looked at his friend. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Well I'm going to go home for a shower and fresh clothes." Rhodes said before leaving Tony to his thoughts.

Pepper sat on the couch with her mother comforting her. "Don't worry sweetheart. You said the man was in prison…"

"Yeah he is, but with the resources Justin Hammer has anything's possible." Pepper interrupted.

"Yes, but you have help in your corner." Gloria smoothed her daughter.

Tony ascended the stairs and stood quietly as Pepper sat with her mother. He stepped over and kneeled in front of Pepper, the arc reactor glowing through his shirt. Tony reached out and took ahold of Pepper's hand. He offered her a smile before leaning down to kiss the back of it. "I promise you, no one will hurt you." He looked into her eyes and when she softly smiled back in return, Tony knew that she understood.

That afternoon when Tony made sure Pepper was preoccupied with her parents and Katie who arrived with some miscellaneous paperwork from the office that needed her attention he knew he could sneak out. Happy insisted that he accompany him, but Tony drove. He maneuvered the car skillfully along the coastal highway, his mind racing thinking of how Hammer was able to organize such chaos when it seemed he was the head of a weapons manufacturer that wasn't exactly making quality products. The need to question Justin face to face eventually became too much and Tony called ahead to have his plane ready to fly to the east coast.

Tony left Happy with the car and a message to give to Pepper. Happy wasn't thrilled about his boss' sudden change in plan, but at the moment Tony didn't look like a man that was about to negotiate. He stood next to the white Audi convertible and watched the plane take off before heading back to Malibu.

Pepper was sitting at the table with her father while her mother decided to cook in Tony's large kitchen when Happy walked in. "Happy, where's Tony?"

"Umm, he uh, well see, he…"

"Spit it out Happy!"

"He flew to New York."

"He what?" Pepper looked as Happy seemed to coward and nodded. She glanced back at her parents. "Excuse me." Her feet carried her down the stairs to Tony's workshop and she quickly entered her code to enter the area. She moved over to his desk and sat down. "Jarvis, I want to talk to Tony, right now!"

"Right away." The AI knew that she was agitated and although he was unsure of the exact reason, it always led back to his creator. "Mr. Stark is aboard the jet which is currently traveling at a cruising speed of 600 miles per hour, at 25,000 feet. It's scheduled to land at the Joseph Resnick Airport at five thirty pm eastern time."

Pepper thought for a moment. "Where's that at?"

"The airport is in Ellenville, NY, and if I may mention that a forty minute drive to the west of that is the Woodbourne Correctional Facility where Justin Hammer is being held." He paused waiting further instruction, but when Pepper seemed to freeze he continued. "Do you still wish to speak to Mr. Stark?"

She shook her head. "I hope he knows what he's doing."

"There is usually a good reason to the things Mr. Stark does." Even Jarvis couldn't swallow the lie and Pepper caught it.

"Really Jarvis, you think so?"

"I was just trying to make you feel better Miss Potts."

Pepper smiled and watched the screen follow the transponder on the Stark Industries plane. "Be careful Tony."

Tony was sipping on a glass of scotch as he thought about what he was going to say to his adversary. For the moment he was surprised Pepper hadn't called to yell at him for being a moron and not thinking things through. He at least thought he was thinking things through when he boarded the plane and it took off. Deep down Tony knew the only conversation he wanted to have with Justin Hammer involved his fists hitting his face.

Several hours later of stewing the plane landed and Tony rushed out only to be greeted by a caravan of black SUV's. As his feet hit the tarmac one door opened. "After I heard about the little stunt Justin pulled at your house I figured the only place I'd be able to stop you was here."

"I have a right to question him." Tony fired back.

Nick Furry laughed. "Do you now? Cause I just think you want to use his face as a punching bag." Tony narrowed his eyes. "Look, Justin Hammer is being transported to SHIELD headquarters where he will remain detained and questioned. We tend to use unconventional interrogation methods not approved by the government." Nick walked up to Tony and sighed. Tony Stark was a thorn in his side he just couldn't quite get out. His spontaneous attitude was hard to harness. "We've got this handled. Go home and relax do whatever it is that you do, take your girl to a nice dinner. Just stop thinking about revenge; we'll get what's required out of Hammer."

With the larger man blocking him Tony could only sigh and nod. "When you find out anything, I want to know." Nick nodded and Tony reluctantly turned around and boarded his plane.

It was late afternoon when Jarvis gave Pepper the news that the plane was an hour from landing. She sent Happy back out with the car to pick him up from the airport. The things she wanted to say to him were running wild in her head and she could no longer focus on work. Pepper dismissed Katie but remained sitting on the couch looking out over the ocean.

Ken stood and watched his daughter from a distance. He knew that she loved this man but all he saw in return was heartache to her, and it was beginning to irritate him. He slowly approached her and sat down. "He upsets you often."

Pepper shook her head as she turned to look at her father. "This is the way Tony's always been."

"There are better men out there."

Her face fell. "But I love Tony. I have for years; I was just scared to admit it." She looked into his eyes. "Don't tell me that being in the military didn't have its effects on Mom, because I know it did. One minute you were there, the next gone for months on end."

"This is a different situation Pepper. I was following orders; Tony is the one giving the orders. He does as he pleases without thinking of the consequences of what he's doing to you." Ken picked up her hand and patted it. "Your mother and I want you to be happy, and so far I've seen you more distressed than anything and it all leads back to that man." Pepper closed her eyes knowing that what her dad was saying was nothing like the Tony Stark she knew. "He has very real enemies that have now become your enemies. I'd hate for something to happen to you because of some fling."

"This isn't some fling."

Pepper and Ken snapped around to see Tony standing next to the waterfall. "Tony." She whispered.

"I'm sure I'm not exactly the man at the top of every father's list of suitors for their daughters, but I can assure you what I feel for Pepper is very real." He was almost mad at the man for upsetting her and trying to convince her that he wasn't good enough for her. His legs carried him to stand before them as they sat on the couch. "And she knows that if there's anything that she needs or desires I will do whatever it takes to get it for her. Pepper knows me better than I know myself, so she knows exactly who I am. You are judging me on just a few days of observation."

Ken stood and moved so he was toe to toe with Tony. "I just want what's best for Pepper."

"So do I." Tony quickly fired back.

They stood unmoving for nearly a minute until Pepper stood. She squeezed between the two men and embraced Tony. "Just stop running off unannounced please."

Tony sighed as he held her, his eyes still locked onto her fathers. "I'm sorry. My frustration won over this time."

She melted into his embrace. "What did Justin say?"

"I don't know Nick Furry stopped me on the tarmac. SHIELD has Hammer now." Pepper pushed away and Tony looked into her eyes. "He wasn't giving me a choice and once I realized it, I honestly had no idea why I went there."

"This Furry guy is starting to grow on me."

Tony grinned. "Well don't get too attached, he can still be an ass."

Once there was an unspoken truce between Tony and Ken things seemed to calm within the house. They all ate a home cooked meal that Gloria had prepared and as usual once he was done Tony retreated to his workshop.

Pepper said goodnight to her parents and after showering went to see what Tony was working on. She could hear the music as she descended the stairs. Her fingers quickly entered her key code number and the door unlocked. She stepped into his domain and stood silently as she watched him work.

Tony was nodding his head with the beat as he manipulated the digital image that stood about two foot high in front of him. He was deep in thought and didn't hear her enter.

"I want to keep the design the same, but maybe see if we can't squeeze an extra surprise or two on there." Tony spoke and started humming still unknowing Pepper was standing right behind him.

"Very well sir." Jarvis responded to his comment.

Tony watched as the digital image of the suit collapsed down into its compacted version for transport as he began to sing. "If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman? If I'm alive and well, will you be there holding my hand? I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might, Kryptonite." He turned in his chair to one of the monitors and saw Pepper standing in one of his shirts watching him. Her legs seemed to extend from the hem a mile to the ground. Tony snapped and the volume of the music was turned down. "I…" All he could do was stare at her as his mouth hung open.

"Would you like to fabricate this design sir?" Jarvis asked as the digital design was entered on the computer. "Sir?" He asked again after getting no response from Tony.

"Wha…oh yeah that, um sure." His eyes never left Pepper's body.

"I feel like I'm being silently interrogated here." She spoke.

"I've got a question, what's under the shirt?" Tony stood and approached her.

Pepper smiled. "Why don't you come upstairs and find out?"

Tony grabbed her hand stopping her retreat. "Over here." He led her over to his '32 Ford hot rod and climbed in pulling Pepper in on his lap. "I like this idea better."

She laughed. "Don't we have an audience here?" Pepper looked around as Dummy was removing machined parts and laying them out for assembly.

"They're busy, and I'm sure Jarvis already knows what we do."

Pepper closed her eyes. "Tony, I don't want to think about all of your computers knowing when we have sex."

"Well, he's kind of everywhere so it's a bit hard for him not to know. And what's the big deal anyway?" Tony moved his hands up her sides taking the shirt with them. Pepper was indeed only wearing the shirt. "This is exactly what I wanted for my birthday."

"It's not your birthday." Opting to ignore her concerns for the machines, Pepper leaned down and kissed Tony as his hands caressed her body. She unbuttoned his shirt so she could get her hands on his skin. The reactor in his chest was glowing brightly between them as they were both consumed by lust.

They sat in the car stated and tired. Pepper dozed off in Tony's arms and he decided that their bed would be better than the hard seat of the car to sleep in. He carried her up two flights of stairs as Jarvis lit the way. Tony gently placed Pepper on the bed before removing the rest of his clothes and joining her in sleep.

As April faded, Pepper had a firm grasp on Stark Industries and the company was back to running smooth as ever. With Hammer out of the picture she and Tony cosigned a new agreement with the US military. After Obadiah's under the table dealings, Pepper made it mandatory that all shipments had to have final authorization through either her or Tony. Her parents wanted to stay longer so in trying to show Ken good faith, Tony bought a beach house not far from his mansion so Pepper's parents could visit her whenever they desired.

Pepper was enjoying breakfast alone; she knew Tony was working in his shop as he was most days. After getting bored with the current news on the stock prices Pepper went to see what her boyfriend was up to. Thinking of Tony as her boyfriend always seemed to bring a smile to her face. She took him down a cup of coffee and sat down in one of the chairs near the small kitchenette.

Tony was adding some minor touches to his current suit when she entered. "Bored?"

She grinned. "At the moment." Pepper noticed that he had the local news on one of the many screens.

"So, if memory suits me correctly, isn't your birthday coming up?" He smiled hoping to surprise her.

With a big smile she responded. "Why yes it is." Pepper hesitated knowing how Tony could have possibly remembered. "Thanks for reminding him Jarvis."

"You're welcome Miss Potts." Jarvis said.

"Traitor." Tony left his suit to sit in the larger seat next to her. He took a sip of the coffee she brought him. "So, what would you like to do for your birthday, since I missed it last year."

"Please don't remind me."

"Sorry." He looked at the television as a distraction. "Do you want a party, we can do formal, or go to Paris, umm…" Tony glanced at Pepper who was staring at the news. "Give me a clue here please."

Pepper smiled. "Have you ever been to the Derby?"

"Excuse me, the what?"

She pointed at the screen. "The Kentucky Derby."

Tony looked as they showed the single west coast entry being loaded on an airplane and showing stats as how rare it was for the western entry to win the prestigious race. "Horse racing?"

"It's a formal affair; everyone gets dressed up, drinks expensive mint juleps, and watches the race." She glanced at him. "I've always wanted a horse but instead my dad just took me to riding lessons. It was fun and put out my desire to own my own horse."

"Okay, we'll go."

Pepper turned in her seat. "Seriously?"

"What else are we going to do? And if it's what you really want, then it's what you shall get." He caught her as she practically threw herself at him. Tony moaned in her mouth as she moved to straddle him. He knew at this point work time was on hold as Pepper continued to kiss him.

Tony's mouth moved to attack her neck as his hands went under the robe to cup her ass. "Oh God don't stop." Pepper spoke into his hair as his lips descended further down to her chest.

"Excuse me sir." Jarvis spoke up.

"A little busy here." Tony snapped back.

"As I see, but…"

"No buts Jarvis go away." Tony continued to kiss around Pepper's breasts as she held him against her.

A sharp knock on the glass door pulled the two back to reality and Tony looked back over his shoulder as Pepper's father glared at him. Pepper pulled her robe closer and buried her head in embarrassment. "Oh, my God." She pried away from Tony's grasp and sat beside him.

"What were you going to say Jarvis?" Tony asked now irritated. He and Pepper were adults, doing adult activities, but it was still embarrassing when caught red handed making out with your girlfriend by her father.

"I was going to tell you that Ken and Gloria Potts were here."

Tony groaned as Pepper composed herself before going to her father. "Dad, what a surprise." She then went upstairs with him.

Tony remained on the couch and looked down at himself. "Yeah, I'll be good as new after a cold shower." He sat on the couch for a few minutes before going to sit behind his desk. "Okay, Pepper's birthday…"

The screens changed and displayed a series of stats. "The Kentucky Derby is the first jewel in the Triple Crown, known as the world series of horse racing. Two week after is the Preakness Stakes, followed by the Belmont Stakes." Jarvis informed him.

"So, we could have three different parties for Pepper. She said she likes horses; did you know she liked horses?" Tony asked.

"No sir. There is a variety of levels on which to watch the race."

"Well, can we get like infield passes and the best seats in the house?" Tony laughed at his comment. "Ha, did I just ask if I could, pfft, of course I can. Jarvis, send an email to Katie that Pepper and I want to attend all the Triple Crown races."

"Yes sir."

With a smiled Tony leapt from his chair and rushed upstairs thrilled about his present to Pepper. Although deep down he still wanted a party. Pepper had changed and was sitting in the living room with her parents talking. He took in a deep breath and held it as he approached them and sat down next to Pepper. Tony avoided Ken's stare at all costs but when Pepper announced that they had sold their home on the east coast and planned on living closer to their daughter, Tony couldn't help but look at the older man. He was now heading into uncharted territory. He was going to have Pepper's parents a mile down the beach for the rest of their lives. Tony put on his best fake smile and leaned over to kiss Pepper on the cheek.

"Where are you going?" Pepper asked as Tony began his retreat.

Tony tapped his watch. "It's Happy time."

Pepper sighed and watched him leave before turning attention back to her parents. "So, can I take you guys out to lunch?"

Tony began his workout with Happy by doing strength training. The two of them lifted weights for nearly an hour before running several miles on the treadmill. Once his workout with Happy was over Tony stood in his large shower and just let the water run over his body. He was thinking about giving Pepper her present in a few weeks and hoped he could keep the entire trip somewhat a secret.

When he stepped out of the shower he dried his upper body and wrapped the towel around his waist. He stood looking at himself in the mirror carefully inspecting his skin around the reactor afraid to see if there was any indication of poisoning as the palladium.

"Mr. Stark, I have…" Katie walked into his bedroom not realizing he was practically naked. "Oh, umm…"

"No, no it's okay. What is it that you need?" He stood before her dressed in a simple white towel.

"Um…I have here your conformation at the three races, and hotel reservations for the evening before each race." She handed him the file containing the documents.

Tony opened the file and scanned over the information. "This is for Pepper's birthday, and I want it to be a surprise."

"I understand." Katie felt uncomfortable close to her half naked boss.

He took a step closer to her as he handed the file back. "I'd like to throw a party for Pepper the night before the derby, casual, with hors d'oeuvres and drinks, and a DJ, no live bands."

"Of course. Would there be anything else?" She asked taking in his proximity and the definition of his torso.

Tony stood staring at his new assistant. In a way he was sizing her up to see how much of him she could tolerate. His eyes held hers as they seemed locked in a staring contest.

"Hey Tony, have you seen…" Pepper entered the bedroom only to freeze in her tracks seeing Tony standing half naked in front of their assistant. "Ummm…"

He looked between the two women for a split second. "Uh that will be all Katie. Thank you." She silently excused herself. "Pepper…"

"What the hell Tony?"

"She was just showing me the details of something I asked her to do."

"While you're naked?"

"The important stuff is covered up." When he saw the look in her eyes that she was skeptical of his excuse he knew he'd have to tell her the truth. "I was trying to plan something special for your birthday and I had Katie make the arrangements, she was just showing me the conformation."

"You…you were planning a party?" She put her hands on her hips as if to show him she was still mad.

Tony sighed. "Yes, a birthday party…" He stepped close to her and framed her face with his hands. "For the woman I love." He moved in a kissed her lips softly. "I had just stepped out of the shower when she came in. I'd left the doors open so it's my fault."

Pepper acted like she wanted to continue being mad with him but at the moment it wasn't working. "If you say so." He smiled and kissed her again.

* * *

><p>Don't worry, I'll make sure something bad happens shortly.<p>

TDCSI


	4. Chapter 4

Well, yet another chapter, being off work for Christmas is giving me a chance to write. This is a chapter that's a bit out there but just bear with me.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

Tony just finished the final test on his restored Mark V and the suit had collapsed into its tidy carrying case. He was looking over some final plans that had just been emailed to him by Katie, and with a grin, Tony instructed Jarvis to lock the system until his return. He picked up the case and headed up to the waiting car.

Happy had just finished loading the bags into the Rolls Royce and was now waiting for the passengers to head to the airstrip. Tony appeared and handed the red and gold case to Happy. "Where is she?"

"I have no idea." Happy shrugged and placed the precious case in the front seat.

Tony leaned against the black car for nearly thirty seconds before making an executive decision. "I think I'll meet you guys at the plane." He walked back into the house leaving Happy with his mouth open in shock.

Pepper finished a last minute email for the company and headed for the car. When she arrived Happy was standing next to it waiting patiently. "Tony late as always."

"Not this time, he actually waited for nearly thirty seconds before deciding to drive himself." Happy informed her.

She rolled her eyes and climbed into the car. Happy stopped and picked up Ken and Gloria before proceeding to the airport. "Where is Tony?" Pepper's mother asked as Happy maneuvered the car down the long stretch of road.

Pepper shrugged while Happy answered. "He's coming up fast behind us." His eyes noticed the familiar white Audi gaining on them.

Everyone watched as Tony's car quickly caught up and passed them. Pepper shook her head with a grin. Ken was far from impressed as he eyed his daughter. "You actually get enjoyment out of him being wreck less."

"That's absurd." She responded.

"He passed us at well over 100 miles per hour and you're smiling." He pointed out.

"Yes, well maybe it's another part of Tony that I fell in love with."

"Please, we are all going to celebrate Pepper's birthday, leave the attitudes in California for the time being." Gloria intervened.

Happy pulled up to the waiting aircraft and opened the doors for everyone while several others retrieved the luggage. He was the only one who carried the Mark V. Tony stepped out onto the stairs from the plane. "Wheels up, and the bar is open!" He took Pepper's hand while balancing his drink in the other. "Happy Birthday." Tony gave her a quick kiss before escorting her onto the plane.

The flight took just under four hours and upon landing there was a large black limo waiting for them as well as several photographers. Ken and Gloria were not accustomed to the attention and stood behind Tony and Pepper as he gripped Pepper's waist with his left arm and raised his right, his fingers poised in the 'peace' symbol. The flashes flooded them as they entered the limo.

Happy sat next to the driver with the Mark V handcuffed to his arm. Tony opened the moon roof and took Pepper's hand. "Come on, you know you want to."

"No, Tony I really don't." She knew what he was asking.

"It's your birthday, come on, let go." He pleaded.

"I'll let go in another way." Pepper watched as Tony stood with his upper body coming out of the top of the car. He was waving at the people recognizing him as they went through Lexington towards their hotel. "He enjoys the attention."

"Obviously." Her father quickly fired at her far from impressed with Tony's actions.

When the limo stopped in front of the Seelbach Hilton hotel there was a large crowd waiting for them. Happy stepped out and pushed the crowd back as he opened the door and Tony quickly climbed out throwing his arms in the air causing the crowd to cheer. He helped Pepper out and took her hand in his.

"Mr. Stark, Selena Roberts, Sports Illustrated." The woman pushed her way towards Tony.

"SI, seriously? Love the swimsuit editions" he stopped not intending on answering any questions, but the lady caught his attention.

"Since when have you been a fan of horse racing?"

"Uh, since Pepper told me she liked horses and wanted to attend the race." He simply answered.

"Christina Everhart, Vanity Fair…" both Tony and Pepper froze almost unbelieving that once again they have crossed paths with the woman. "Do you actually think that we believe that your relationship with Miss Potts began when you announced it and not years before when she was your assistant doing your bidding?"

"I'm a one woman man now Miss Everhart, sorry." Tony turned and headed towards the hotel with Pepper at his side.

"So who takes the trash out now?" The woman fired.

Pepper suddenly was red and released Tony's hand and turned to face the woman. Happy was right behind them and quickly stopped peppers advance. "You were the last piece of trash that I had to take out!"

"Pepper!" Happy pushed her towards a shocked Tony. "Come on, inside."

They entered the quiet foyer of the hotel and a bellhop escorted the group towards the elevators. When the doors closed Ken couldn't help but speak up. "What was that all about?"

"The past." Tony answered simply and quickly before turning his attention to Pepper. "That was impressive; I didn't know you were so feisty."

"Drop it."

"I bet you could have taken her."

"Tony."

"You know it was just a…"

"Stop." She clamped her hand over his mouth. "She is in the past I know what happened, so let's keep her out of the present. Remember, I don't want to talk about things I already know about." He nodded with her hand still on his face. "Good."

Pepper removed her hand and Tony grinned. "You could've taken her."

"Shut up!" Pepper landed a punch on his arm as he laughed.

They were shown into the Gatsby suite near the top floor of the hotel. The bellhop showed them the various rooms and Tony had he and Pepper's things put in the master bedroom, while Ken and Gloria were given the bed room with the queen size bed, leaving Happy and Katie to share a room with two large double beds. Happy was fine with the arrangement while Katie was less than impressed but knowing she needed to be disposable at all hours went with it.

"So master party planner, what's on the agenda?" Pepper mocked Tony as he looked around the room. Ken and Gloria sat down on one of the many couches that were placed around the 1,000 square foot suite.

"Well…" Tony looked around, "why don't you ask Katie."

The younger woman stepped forward. "You have reservations at the five diamond restaurant, The Oakroom, at eight. After your meal the Rathskeller room has been converted to accommodate Mr. Stark's requirements."

Pepper narrowed her eyes. "What requirements?"

"Ah well, I figured that you needed an appropriate party, so I've made it tasteful yet conservative, nothing outlandish or crazy." Tony chimed in.

"You, not going crazy at party planning?" She crossed her arms as Tony stepped forward.

He smiled. "Nope, and Katie tell her the best part."

"You and Mrs. Potts have reservations at the spa downstairs in an hour."

Pepper smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Tony kissed her softly not wanting to get out of control; he was saving that for later.

Pepper and Gloria spent the afternoon in the spa, while Tony and Happy checked out the gym, and Ken situated himself in front of the large television enjoying some peace. That night they enjoyed a large five course meal. Gloria and Ken decided to avoid the party and went up to the suite.

Happy stuck close to Katie and even managed to dance with her several times. Tony was keeping Pepper at his side even when other women were trying to get his attention. There was an array of people in attendance, several were colleagues from Stark, some were celebrities also attending the Derby, and of course there was always the selection of gorgeous available women.

As the night moved into morning, Tony continued to dance with Pepper. She untied his tie and let it hang from his neck occasionally holding it to pull him closer to her. It was all about her, and instead of normally stealing the show, Tony kept his attention on her. Eventually they entered the elevator and Tony pinned Pepper against the wall and kissed her. With both of their bodies on fire for release, their kisses here sloppy and hurried, and as they entered the suite they continued to kiss as they made their way towards their bedroom. Pepper pushed off Tony's suit jacket letting it fall to the floor. She ripped open his shirt as she pulled him by the tie still draped around his neck.

Ken was still up watching tv when the pair entered. He was silent in watching as his daughter began undressing her lover as she led him to her bed. It wasn't something he wanted to see, after all Pepper was still his little girl in his eyes. Not wanting to be in close proximity to them, he retreated to his bed.

Tony pushed Pepper back onto the bed and began undressing her. He pulled her dress off and noticed that she wasn't wearing any panties. He exhaled deeply. "Naughty girl." Pepper helped him shed the rest of his clothes as they moved up the large bed. Tony was quick to join them together but instantly slowed their hurried movements. He looked down at Pepper, the love of his life and smiled. "Happy Birthday." They entered the morning screaming each other's names in ecstasy and awoke with the sun greeting them into the mid-morning.

Everyone cleaned up and met down at the waiting limo that took them to Churchill Downs. Pepper was excited and made it obvious. Tony was happy that he was the one making her so happy. There was a large crowd greeting every celebrity or known person that arrived to attend the race. After several pictures and handshakes they were taken to the main area high above the track right at the finish line.

"Can we go to the stables?" Pepper asked out loud to no one as she looked across the track to the layout of barns.

Tony was standing close enough to hear her question. "Sure." He smiled when her face filled with excitement. "Happy…" Tony waived over his friend. "Come with us." He turned to Katie. "We are going to go see the horses, stay here with Ken and Gloria and we'll be back."

Pepper and Tony were taken by a staff member to the backside of the track where there was an array of television cameras catching all of the pre-race activities of the horses.

"Oh, look at that one over there." Pepper pointed.

"That's the one entry of Bob Baffert." The escort informed them.

She turned to Tony. "He's the horse from California."

"Cool." Was all Tony could respond not knowing what she was talking about.

Pepper took his hand and pulled him towards the horse. Several guards stopped them about five feet from the animal but they were allowed to observe. Happy was a few feet back clutching the red and gold case. "He's gorgeous." She commented. "Wouldn't it be cool to own one of these awesome animals?"

Tony narrowed his eyes. "And do what with it?"

"Race it. They can make money too." She informed him.

"Really?" Tony looked at the horse more closely. "He looks like a lot of maintenance."

"Oh, and you're not?" Pepper mocked.

"Point taken." He looked around and saw a white haired man in sunglasses leaving a small group of reporters. Tony watched as the man walked right up to the horse and pat the animal on the face. He had no idea who the guy was but apparently Pepper did.

"He's beautiful, Mr. Baffert." Pepper spoke up.

"Thank you." The man approached them and looked at Tony who was avoiding eye contact through his own shades. "I've seen you before."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Tony responded. "Pep, want to go look at another one?"

Bob snapped his fingers. "You're Tony Stark, the Iron Man."

Tony wanted to deny it by shaking his head, but once again Pepper had other plans. "Yes he is, I'm Pepper Potts, co-CEO of Stark Industries. It's my first Derby."

"Welcome. Here, would you like to see him up close?" Bob offered and Pepper drug Tony close to the horse. "His name ironically is Iron Dust."

"That's a cool name." Pepper ran her hand down the white blaze that stood out against the horses black coat.

Tony suddenly had an idea pop into his head and while Pepper was admiring the animal he pulled Bob aside. "What's it take to run one of these things?"

Bob laughed. "A race horse? Well, you've got to own one first."

He glanced back at Pepper laughing as the horse was licking her hand. "How much for that one?"

"You serious?" Bob looked at the man over his sunglasses before removing them. "I don't own him but everything's for sale in this business."

"Find out." He patted the trainer on his shoulder and walked up to Pepper. "It seems he likes you."

"He's so gentle." Pepper held out her hand for the horse to lick once again.

"Want to walk around some more?" Tony offered and put an arm around Pepper's waist leading her away from the horse. "We'll be back." He informed Bob as they walked down the row of barns.

"I'd bet on that horse." Pepper spoke as she looked at the man escorting them.

"His current odds are 10-1, so he's not the favorite but he should be in the front group to cross the wire." The man informed him.

After twenty minutes of walking around they found themselves back at Baffert's barn. The white haired man smiled and greeted them. While Pepper went back to the horse Tony met with Bob. "Okay, I'm not sure how much money you're thinking to spend, but the owners want $350,000 for him right now before the race. Depending on how he finishes, that number could go up."

Without hesitation Tony held out his hand to the man. "Deal." Bob shook his hand nearly stunned at the lack of negotiation. "And you stay in charge of him." Tony turned and went back to Pepper. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You really like this horse don't you?"

"He's just…" She was speechless as she pet the animal.

"Well, Happy Birthday." Tony watched as she turned in his arms with a confused look. "I didn't know what to get you, and you can always get dresses and stuff, so I figured what's the big deal. He's yours…I just bought him."

Pepper's eyes grew and her mouth fell open. "Really, for me?"

"Yup, congratulations Miss Potts you own your very own Kentucky Derby race horse." She quickly embraced him and Tony hugged her back. "Wow, does this mean I did good?"

She moved to pull him into a deep kiss. They separated out of breath and smiling. "Thank you."

Ken and Gloria were enjoying the pre Derby races from their perch in the large suite. There were screens around them broadcasting the pre-derby festivities on the backside and when Tony and Pepper came on the screen they both watched.

"_Mr. Stark is it true that you just bought Iron Dust?" a reporter asked as He and Pepper walked alongside the black horse being led by two grooms. _

"_Yes." Tony answered shortly._

"_Miss Potts, do you have any comments on Mr. Stark's purchase."_

"_Well, we plan on continuing racing him in the very capable hands of Bob Baffert. It's our first racehorse." She offered._

"_And he's a Derby contender." The reporter added as they stopped to let the party pass. "You heard it, the connections of Iron Dust has changed in one hour to post."_

Ken's mouth fell open as Gloria smiled. "Isn't that sweet, he bought Pepper a horse." She said while her husband shook his head.

Tony and Pepper accompanied the horse to the paddock and watched the horse being saddled and the jockey mounting their new purchase. Pepper was grinning widely as Bob showed them to the owner's boxes. They watched as the horses were loaded into the gate and it then dawned on Tony that his new purchase could instantly make him money. "How much if we win?"

"About 1.3 million." Bob spoke as he kept his eyes trained on the horse.

"Damn." Tony then turned his attention as the gates opened and the horses ran past the grandstand for the first time. Iron Dust was the only black horse in the field making him easy to track. As the horses entered the backstretch Tony noticed his horse sitting in second place. He could feel the excitement and began cheering on the horse alongside Pepper.

As the horses rounded the final turn and entered the homestretch both Tony and Pepper were screaming with excitement as their horse battled for the lead. The large chestnut horse running next to Iron Dust managed to gain the lead with less than two furlongs remaining. Iron Dust crossed the line in second with the third place horse several lengths behind.

"Dammit!" Tony yelled and Pepper turned to him and smiled. "He was so close."

Pepper laughed. "Let's go congratulate him."

"He lost." Tony pointed out.

"There's always the Preakness." Bob spoke up.

"More races?" Tony asked and when Bob nodded he looked at Pepper. "Cool."

After bidding goodbye to Bob and their new horse, Tony and Pepper went to find her parents. They were driven back to the hotel and Tony received a text that he won nearly half a million for second place. He shared the information with everyone that his investment earned him a profit if less than an hour. Pepper laughed as Happy shook his head. It was always business with Tony, unless it was just a party.

While they were sitting on the tarmac waiting for their luggage to be unloaded screams could suddenly be heard from inside the terminal. They all looked through the glass as people began running. "What's going on?" Tony asked as one of the workers turned up his radio.

'_Alert the police, a man just rushed the metal detectors with a bomb strapped to his person and is running down the terminal towards the tarmac.'_

Tony grabbed the radio. "What terminal is he heading for?"

'_He was screaming something in another language and heading towards the taxing airplane heading for runway 3.'_

The instant the message came through they saw the man run out of the terminal dragging a woman along with him, and airport security attempting to stop him but failing. It appeared he was going to intercept the plane and with a hostage and security was unsure how to proceed.

"Happy, the case." Tony removed his jacket and handed it to Pepper. She folded it over her arm and went to her parents to move them away from him as Happy freed the case and tossed it at his boss. Tony set the case on the ground and activated it. He reached down and pulled the evolving case to his chest and extended his arms. They all watched as he transformed into Iron Man in a matter of seconds and took to the air.

Tony focused in on the explosive device, and once he located the connection point he rushed in. The hostage was thrown to the ground under Iron Man's force but was unharmed. Within seconds, Tony had the explosive off the man and was back in the air. As he flew over the runway the bomb went off. The thrusters on his hands were damaged as was a section of the chest piece. He lost his momentum and began his decent to earth.

"This is gonna hurt!" He yelled as the one hundred foot fall ended in the grass next to the run way. Tony groaned and remained on his back. "I wasn't considering explosives when I overhauled this thing."

"Tony!" Pepper yelled as she watched him impact the ground. Happy held her as they all watched the fire and rescue from the airport stop where Tony landed. He suddenly appeared walking with several firemen and shook their hand before having to walk back towards Pepper. Once he was close Happy let her go and she ran towards Tony.

He flipped his faceplate back as she enveloped him. "I'm fine, unlike my suit."

She managed to push back and looked at the damage up close. "Oh my God."

Tony shrugged as she held him again. As the police and federal agents arrived Tony gave them his statement and they all boarded the plane. With the damage, it took several hard pulls from Happy to extract Tony form the suit. The flight was quiet as Tony sat and sipped a glass of scotch and watched the governments reaction to the terrorist. Senator Stern was giving his two cents on the incident and as always the man irritated Tony, but he listened to what the senator had to say.

Pepper rode with Tony as he drove his car back to their home and Happy took her parents' home. Tony drove directly into his workshop and the first thing he did was throw the pieces of the former Mark V at one of his robots. "Hey Dummy, dispose of this thing will you." He walked over to his desk still irritated by the senator's comments.

"Stop letting him get to you." Pepper knew why he was upset.

"He's the only ass in the free world that is against me and what I do. He can always find one thing to bitch about even if everything turned out well and no one was hurt. The man is relentless and is capable of doing nothing but causing problems." Tony stood in front of her and yelled, pointing at nothing in particular.

Pepper knew that getting Tony to calm down was near impossible at the moment. "It's nothing; he's just making random accusations don't…" Her sentence was cut off by Tony yelling and throwing a punch at one of his computer screens. She jumped back startled by his outburst.

Tony stood and let his adrenaline settle down as he looked across the desk at Pepper who was frozen in place. His chest heaved as he looked down at his hand. The screen had broken and made several cuts to his knuckles. Blood dripped from his hand to the ground but Tony couldn't feel any pain at the moment. Pepper felt the tears well up in her eyes and she had to get away from him. "Pepper…" tony watched her retreat up stairs and he sat back in his chair and sighed. "Jarvis."

"Yes sir." The AI responded and brought the room to life.

"Scan this and make sure there's nothing embedded in the skin." He set his hand on the table as several sensors went over his hand.

"All of the cuts are superficial; I don't detect any glass shards under the skin." Jarvis informed Tony.

Tony rubbed his hands over his face and sighed loudly. "Pepper." He spoke and stood rushing towards the stairs. He looked around and found her sitting on the stairs behind the repaired water fall. "Hey…" He walked up and sat next to her putting his arm around her. Pepper wrapped her arms around her stomach and Tony noticed the flash of discomfort across her face. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"It's noting. I've just had a stomach ache since we took off." She leaned into him for comfort.

"Maybe you should go lay down." He pulled her to her feet. "Come on." Tony walked her up the remaining steps to their room and helped her down on the bed. "Do you think it was something you ate?"

"I don't know." She looked up at him and tried to smile.

Tony pushed several strands of hair back away from her face. "Get some rest, we had a long day. I'm sure it's just stress." He sat with her until she dozed off before returning to his workshop. "Jarvis, keep an eye on Pepper for me."

"Of course sir." He went silent for a moment. "The Mark V was properly destroyed, would you like me to put together a new one?"

He picked up the broken monitor. "Let's hold off on that for the moment Jarvis." Tony tossed the monitor in the trash as he went to sit down. His head fell back over the back of the chair and he just looked at the ceiling. "Do you ever get the feeling like you're missing something in life?"

"I don't house human emotions sir."

"It was a rhetorical question Jarvis. I just wish I could get everything in order and decide what I want to do with my life." Tony went quiet and this time Jarvis remained silent.

Nearly an hour went by and Tony was still staring at the ceiling when Jarvis spoke up. "Sir, Miss Potts requires your immediate attention."

Tony sprang to his feet and scaled the stairs two at a time. He could hear Pepper's distressed moans as he entered the bedroom. "Pepper?" She was curled into a ball groaning in pain. "Pepper, please tell me what's wrong?"

"It hurts, my stomach." She gritted her teeth as Tony rubbed her back.

"If I may suggest, I can perform a scan of Miss Potts' abdomen in the shop." Jarvis spoke up.

"Pepper?" She nodded and Tony scooped her up into his arms. Dummy was pushing over a table to the middle of the room and Tony gently placed her onto it. He held her hand as Jarvis started the scan. "It will be all right." Tony encouraged her. "Jarvis, have Doctor Major come evaluate her."

"Right away."

Pepper looked up at Tony. "What's wrong with me?"

"I don't know baby, but we'll know in a second." Tony leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Suddenly Jarvis spoke up. "I have completed my diagnostics. Maybe we should wait for the doctor?"

"Jarvis." Tony threatened.

"Very well…" A screen appeared next to Pepper so Tony could look across her to see. "The problem lies with your uterus."

"What?" Pepper questioned as she looked at the image Jarvis projected.

"Using the current measurements, the fetus is around five weeks from fertilization, no heartbeat is detected, your body is doing what it needs to in order to expel the…"

"I'm pregnant?" Pepper looked from the screen to Tony who's eyes were still locked in on the highlighted fetus. "You said there's no heartbeat, what happened?"

"It's hard to say, but the pain is being cause by your contractions."

Tony looked from the screen down to Pepper. She was looking up at him tears filling her eyes. He didn't know what to say, but what he did know was that Pepper was pregnant with his child, and a feeling of emptiness suddenly filled Tony. He tried to offer Pepper as much comfort as he could as she cried into his shirt sleeve.

The doctor arrived and did a quick examination confirming she was indeed miscarrying. He left Tony with a set of instructions that Jarvis took upon himself to remember. That night Tony sat next to Pepper as she remained on the table of his workshop losing their baby.

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><p>Damn, I am one cruel ass person no?<p>

TDCSI


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you for the reviews I've received for this. It's my first ever Iron Man story obviously, but I'm glad to see that I'm sticking close to how the characters act. I may get a little mushy in this but stick with me I have something up my sleeve for Tony in the next chapter.

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

Pepper began to wake. Her body felt numb and yet she could feel warm at the same time. She managed to open her eyes and recognized the bedroom she shared with Tony. She glanced down at her clothes remembering falling asleep fully clothed, and in the workshop.

"Hey, glad to see you awake." Pepper turned to the voice. "I admit when Tony called me I was shocked, but he sounded scared; I'm glad I came."

She smiled at her regular caregiver. "Diane, good to see you too, I think."

Diane grinned and sat down. "Do you remember?" Pepper nodded. "Okay, so far the bleeding has stopped. I want you to stay in bed today, stay away from work related stuff; emails, phone calls, whatever." She observed her patient as she looked around the room. They both looked at Tony sleeping hunched over in the armchair that sat in the middle of the room. "He's only been asleep about an hour; I'd give him a few more."

"How'd he get your number?" Diane shrugged at Pepper's question. "Jarvis, do you know?" She watched as her doctor furrowed her brow in question.

"Mr. Stark asked me to hack your personal computer for any information. I'm sorry, but he was extremely distressed." The AI explained.

"Pepper, I'm serious, this isn't something to take lightly and I know you're trying to be strong."

She looked back to her doctor. "Why did this happen?"

Diane took her hand. "Nothing's ever clear why these things happen, there's always that risk."

"In Lexington, Tony threw me a birthday party and at the Derby I had a few mint juleps."

Diane held up her hands. "A few drinks aren't going to hurt anything, and you said you didn't even know right?" Pepper nodded and in return Diane shrugged her shoulders. "You should be back to feeling you're normal self by tomorrow, no sex for at least two weeks, monitor your bleeding, anything similar to your normal period is fine." Pepper lowered her head. "Hey, just remember, this affects Tony too. And if you need to talk just call me."

"Thank you." Pepper leaned back against the pillow and watched her doctor leave. She glanced over at Tony before putting a hand over her stomach. The thought of having children was the furthest thought from her mind until last night when Jarvis showed her the image. The only symptom she could think of that would have indicated her pregnancy was her sporadic bouts of exhaustion, but as always she pinpointed all of her issues towards work. Pepper watched Tony as he slept. A smile crossed her face at his uncomfortable sleeping position. "Tony."

He grunted and flinched before waking. His eyes blinked clear and he looked over towards Pepper. "Hey." Tony moved and carefully crawled across the bed to lie next to her. "How are you feeling?" He gently wrapped his arm around her.

She melted into his embrace. "Just hold me."

Tony did as she asked and as they lay still both fell asleep. Jarvis darkened the room and locked the door giving the two as much privacy as he could.

Happy entered the mansion and went straight to the kitchen. He grabbed some snacks out of the fridge and wandered around the living area. "Where the hell is everyone?"

"Mr. Stark and Miss Potts are resting; Katie has been informed that she is not needed today. Is there something I can assist you with?" Jarvis offered.

"Day off huh? I can deal with that. Let Tony know I'm going surfing if he asks." Happy took his final bite and headed towards the workout locker room.

When Happy left Jarvis locked the mansion up. He kept Dummy and Butterfingers busy straightening up the workshop. Being able to be everywhere in the house, Jarvis kept tabs on Happy as he surfed, the robots in the shop, and he continued to monitor Pepper's vitals as she slept in Tony's arms. He knew that his creator not only designed him to aid him but also as a protector, it was Jarvis that kept Tony Stark safe in his own home.

Pepper woke and stretched feeling much better with some sleep. She turned to look at Tony who was snoring softly. Carefully Pepper pried herself from his lazy grasp and stood up. She could feel her stomach muscles tense and instantly her hands went to her stomach. Jarvis allowed some light to peer into the room.

"Pep." Tony spoke as he woke. He saw her standing next to the bed with her hands over her abdomen. "Hey Pepper." Tony slid across the bed and sat on the edge in front of her. He cautiously reached out and covered her hands with his.

She looked into his eyes and she couldn't help the tears that flooded her eyes. "I lost our baby." It was a confession she had wanted to say for the entire morning.

Tony stood and embraced her. "No sweetie, it wasn't your fault, if anything I should be the one at fault, all I've done lately is stress you out." He held her tightly against him as she sobbed. "Hey, things will work out fine." After a moment of closeness, Tony pushed away. "Come on, I need a shower, wanna give me a hand?" He winked at her.

Pepper smiled. "Sure."

After their shower, Tony escorted Pepper down to the kitchen. She sat down at the breakfast bar and observed a side of Tony she'd never seen before. "Do you even know how to cook, other than an airplane omelet?"

"No, I'm actually glad that you didn't eat that." She laughed as he dug through the large refrigerator. "Okay, how about a fruit salad. There are a few apples, oranges, this fuzzy brown thing, and this odd looking multi-colored whatever." Tony held the mango out before setting it on the counter with the rest of the fruit he took out.

"This is a kiwi, by the way." Pepper held up the small fruit.

Tony pulled a knife and smiled. "Well since you are an expert at kiwi's you cut that thing up 'cause it scares me." Pepper laughed and began cutting up the fruit. Tony proceeded to cut the other fruit into pieces and arranging them on a large plate. "How about snacking in bed and watching movies?"

"Sounds good to me." Once they had prepared their snack, Tony followed Pepper back to their bed. The two of them laid down together and started snacking. "So what movie?"

"You pick, I'll probably fall asleep after the first fifteen minutes." Tony admitted.

"Okay, how about a good romantic comedy?" Pepper glanced over at her bedmate as he took a piece of an orange and popped it into his mouth, and shrugged. "How about 'Notting Hill' Jarvis"

"An excellent selection." He brought up the display screen over the wall and started the movie. As predicted Tony fell asleep a quarter of the way through the movie where as Pepper made it past the half-way point. When the two of them were deep in sleep, Jarvis darkened the room and ended the movie.

Several hours later Tony woke and put on some clothes to work in. Pepper was sound asleep so he decided she needed sleep and he needed to take his mind off of things. With one last look at Pepper sleeping, Tony retreated to his shop. Instead of deciding to work on something, Tony found himself sitting at his desk staring at three blank computer screens.

"What do you think Jarvis; do you think I'd make a good father?" Tony asked while looking around at his large workshop.

"Are you trying to compare yourself to your own father sir?"

Tony looked down at his hands and then began staring at the arc reactor in his chest. "I just never really got to spend much time with my father. I guess that's why I resent the man in a way."

"Well sir, I can say that you are dedicated, compassionate, and will do whatever it takes to protect those around you."

"So, you're basically saying yes that I would." Tony looked around his domain and suddenly pictured himself guiding a young version of him sitting in the shop working beside him and it brought a smile to his face. "Yeah, I think I would." He spun around in his chair. "Assemble the Mark VI, I want to make a few adjustments."

Pepper woke alone and she knew exactly where Tony was without asking Jarvis, so she climbed out of bed and took their remaining fruit down to the kitchen. While in the fridge, Jarvis alerted her that her parents had arrived. She waited as Gloria and Ken entered the house and approached her. "Hey."

"Hi Sweetie." Gloria approached her daughter. "You look exhausted, are you feeling alright?" She put her hands on Pepper's face and felt her forehead like any loving mother would.

She knew she needed to tell them, but looking at her father and knowing that he was still on the offensive against Tony made her more leery about it. "Yeah, um, there's something I need to tell you guys." Pepper led her mother to the large couch in the living area.

Gloria could tell that there was something seriously bothering her daughter. "Honey, whatever it is you can tell us."

"I know." Pepper was flanked by both of her parents as she took in several deep breathes. "Well, there's no real easy way to explain this, but um last night I found out I was pregnant."

"That's wonderful!" Gloria embraced her daughter with joy, while Ken sat unmoved and just glared at her.

Pepper began to sob. "I found out when I miscarried." The tears flowed freely as Pepper clung to her mother.

Gloria went from celebrating to comforting her daughter. "It's okay, these things happen." She stoked Peppers long red hair as she soothed her.

Ken looked around and wondered where the man was that put his daughter through so much emotional stress. He stepped away from Gloria and Pepper and let his rage take him towards the stairs. Ken went down the steps and attempted to open the door. At his attempt the glass lit up red. "Hey!" He pounded on the glass.

Tony kept working on his suit with the music blaring. "Sir, Mr. Potts is trying to gain entry."

"I know." Tony finished screwing down an attachment on his suit. He sighed guessing Pepper's father wasn't there for a nice conversation. Once satisfied Tony pushed his chair away from the suit and stood. "Let him in."

Ken stalked Tony with his eyes as the lock on the door click and he quickly opened it. "I can't believe you're down here playing with your superhero costume while my daughter is up there suffering the loss of her baby." Tony stopped and narrowed his eyes at the older man. "You're a typical rich playboy; spend your money on yourselves, bed the women around you not thinking about the consequences in hopes that your money can get you out of anything."

Tony fully faced the approaching man. "I'm only going to say this once so listen up. I love Pepper, you can blunder me with guilt about what she went through last night, but just so you know, I was right there beside her as she suffered the loss of our child! I feel guilty enough as it is." Tony's voice softened with his last statement.

Fire flashed through Ken's eyes and he reacted on his instinct. His right fist swung quickly catching Tony across the chin sending him stumbling backwards. Tony took the punch and stood straight and firm in front of him.

"You can hit me all you want, but it's not going to change how Pepper and I feel for each other." Tony's chest heaved and he noticed a figure standing behind Ken approaching them. "It's okay Happy."

Ken wheeled around to see the husky man poised to attack him if needed. Happy kept his eyes on Ken as he walked over to stand near Tony. The three men all stood in a quiet in a standoff as Pepper and Gloria approached the door.

Pepper entered her numerical code and entered the shop with her mother in tow. "Dad, what's going on here?" She moved to stand in front of Tony. Her hands linked with his and she moved them so they rested over her abdomen. "Why are you so against Tony? I love him, and he loves me, why is that so hard for you to accept?"

Gloria took her husband's hands. "Ken, stop looking at the man you read about in the papers, and look at the man in front of you."

Upon hearing his wife's words of wisdom, Ken stood and looked at how his daughter appeared in the arms of the man she had chosen. He inhaled deeply and shook his head. "I'm sorry Honey." Gloria embraced him as he continued to look at the couple standing before him. "Tony I'm…"

"Ken, its fine." Tony stopped him. A part of him was happy to see a father standing up for his family and what he believes is right for them. "I know you're concerned about Pepper, but I don't know what I need to do to prove that she will be taken care of."

Ken smiled. "Just don't let her down." Pepper smiled widely and went to hug her father and mother. Tony stood back and smiled knowing that things were beginning to get on track.

Twelve days past and Rhodes found himself sitting on the steps leading up to the Stark Industries jet. His best friend told him to be there at ten sharp and it was going on noon. He checked his watch again as the white Audi convertible screeched to a halt. "Seriously, again you keep me waiting?"

"Chill out Rhodey, this is nothing like last time." Tony escorted Pepper up the stairs and they both smiled as they passed Rhodes. "Hurry up Happy, wheels up!"

Four hours later the plane landed in Maryland "Tell me again why you guys have dragged me to a horse race?"

Pepper smiled. "To watch my horse run. And you never know who you might meet."

Rhodes rolled his eyes. "Hey man, I think your girlfriend is trying to set me up."

"Why are you telling me, I don't have any control over what she does." Tony stepped out of the plane and into a swarm of media photographers. Pepper smiled at Rhodes and followed Tony.

They managed to keep a low profile that night, but the next day at the track, Tony had the majority of the reporters following him around. Pepper stayed close to her horse while her boyfriend gallivanted with the press. They were more concerned with asking questions about Iron Man than the horse race.

As the call to post sounded, Tony, Pepper, and Rhodes all stood and watched the horses as they passed in front of the grandstand. Pepper gripped Tony's hand and watched as her horse was announced. Moments later the horses were in the starting gate, and once they were all in a brief hesitation was allowed before the gates slammed open and fifteen horses exploded from the gate. The crowd cheered on as the horses passed the grandstand.

They could easily keep an eye on Iron Dust as the jockey's silks Bob had designed replicated the look of Tony's Iron Man suit. Pepper held Tony's hand tightly as they lost sight of the horses and could only watch on the large screen next to the finish line. Rhodes felt just as excited watching his first live race. As the horses rounded the final turn Pepper was screaming as her horse came into view on the outside gaining on the leaders. Tony joined her in cheering as the horses neared. The entire grandstand was roaring as Iron Dust inched passed the leader to cross under the wire first.

Pepper screamed and jumped for joy and into Tony's arms before being hugged by Bob. "Let's go to the winners circle!" Bob led them down to the track as they were swarmed by cameras.

They were congratulated by many as they headed for the track. Bob walked out onto the dirt followed by Tony and Pepper as Iron Dust was maneuvered towards his trainer. Bob shook the hands of the jockey as did Tony and Pepper. As they lined up around the horse in the winner's circle, Tony held up his right arm with the peace sign as photos were snapped. Pepper rolled her eyes as under all of the added attention his ego flared.

After Pepper and Tony discussed moving her horse back to California to race the remainder of the year including the possibility of running in the Breeder's Cup for a five million dollar purse, which got Tony's attention. Bob said he would explain more when he returned to California with Iron Dust.

As the Stark Industries plane flew west towards Malibu Pepper dozed on the couch in Tony's arms. He lovingly stroked her hair and felt exhaustion creep into his system. His eyes scanned the cabin and noticed his friend reading the paper. The picture on the front caught his attention. "Wanna go to the game?"

Rhodes looked at his friend. "Game?"

"Yeah, the Lakers, playoffs…come on Rhodey." Tony smiled at this friend.

"You're going to get tickets?"

Tony shrugged and grinned. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. Rhodes shook his head and went back to reading the paper. Tony closed his eyes for a few minutes until his phone chimed. He cleared his throat sarcastically and read the message. "Mr. Stark, you have two courtside seats for tomorrow night's game. Katie." Tony grinned at his friend. "Isn't she amazing?"

"Yes, she is." Pepper answered sleepily as she readjusted her position.

Once on the ground, Rhodes parted ways with his friend while Tony and Pepper were taken home by Happy.

The house was empty when they arrived. Jarvis greeted them and lighted the house as Pepper went straight to the bedroom followed by Tony. Happy left the bags in the hall and retreated to his own room that Tony designated only for him when he needed it. Currently it seemed that Happy was staying out at the mansion several days out of the week.

Pepper was quick to shed her clothes and went to soak in the whirlpool. She sighed and smiled as the hot water flowed over her body. The day had been enjoyable and she couldn't remember a time before her involvement with Tony. It was almost surreal, as before she was standing next to Tony as he did all of his flamboyant showing off, and now he had turned his showing off towards her. And she admitted to herself that she was enjoying it. It was the first time that she didn't have to worry about agendas and paperwork, and she loved it.

Tony entered the bathroom and saw her soaking in the tub. He stripped his clothes and hopped in startling her and splashing the water. "Ahh, dammit Tony."

He laughed and moved close to her. Without another word, Tony kissed her. Pepper wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. She deepened the kiss and moved to wrap her legs around him. The need to be as close as possible was too much and she reached down to encourage Tony's advances. He moaned into her mouth as she touched him and he broke the kiss. "Are you sure it's okay?"

She nodded. "We just need to be careful."

"Careful…yeah, I think I can do that." Tony silenced her giggle with a kiss and moved closer to her. He ravished her with kisses and before he made his final move he pulled back and looked into her eyes. "I know I've said this in not so many words but, marry me Pepper."

She knew he insinuated it at the office months ago, but with him before her saying it loud and clear brought tears to her eyes. Pepper had answered him before and since then there has been nothing to change her decision, only rectify it more as in the past few weeks he has shown her more compassion than she ever knew he possessed. Pepper swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled. "Yes."

With a smile Tony moved to kiss her once again. He wanted to make love to her properly so he pulled back and took her hand. At first she was confused, but when Tony helped her out of the tub and after a brief towel dry he took her to the bed that she knew he only had one plan in mind. As she laid back Tony was a mere whisper from her body. Their kisses were slow and passionate as Tony moved to join them together. He looked over her expression. "Am I…are you…"

"It's fine, I'm okay." He just continued to look at her. "Tony, it's okay." Pepper brought her hand up and caressed his face. "We just can't get pregnant…yet." Tony smiled and moved to kiss her.

Tony drew out their lovemaking for longer than he ever had. He brought Pepper to edge several times before falling over himself. They fell asleep in each other's arms in a tangle of sheets.

The next morning when Pepper woke, she assumed she was alone as Tony was normally up and working in his shop. But when she tried to roll over she was met with a grunt. She smiled and turned over to face him. Tony continued to groan as he stretched and opened his eyes to look at the woman lying next to him. "Good morning."

"Morning, sleep well I see since you're not in the shop." Pepper then leaned towards him and softly kissed his lips.

"I slept like a rock. Besides, after last night I'm not sure if my legs are working properly." He waggled his eyebrows at her. "That and I was thinking if I stayed in bed I could have another round."

Pepper laughed as Tony wrapped his arms around her and pulled her so she was on top of him. She could feel his desire for her between her legs. "Mmmm, ready for round two then I see." Pepper kissed him deeply and moved her hips teasing him.

"Excuse me sir." Jarvis interrupted.

"Jarvis!" Tony yelled. "Go away."

"You know last time my parents walked in on us." Pepper reminded him.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "You were saying Jarvis."

"Mr. and Mrs. Potts are approaching up the drive."

Pepper smiled and Tony groaned in disappointment. "Don't worry I'll take care of you before they interrupt." She slid down under the sheet and as she started Tony closed his eyes and just enjoyed the pleasure Pepper was providing him.

Ken and Gloria were allowed in the mansion by Jarvis. He greeted them properly as they passed through the foyer and headed towards the kitchen. Gloria set out the bagels that she brought for breakfast. "I'm sure they are excited for their horse, especially Pepper. She's always loved horses."

Ken shook his head at his wife. "At least she's happy. I know I've been hard on Tony, but I just want her to be happy."

Gloria smiled at him. "You're just being a good father." She pulled open the fridge and took out a pitcher of orange juice. "Help me set this up."

Pepper heard her parents talking as she approached. "What brings you guys here this early?"

"There you are dear." Gloria hugged her daughter as she entered the room. "Well we thought we'd bring you guys a celebratory breakfast on your horse's victory yesterday."

With a wide grin Pepper hugged both of her parents. "Where's Tony?" Ken asked.

"Umm, I think he's still asleep. Jarvis, would you wake Tony." Pepper asked the AI

"I'll do what I can." Jarvis said in response. The trio laughed at his comment.

Tony was snoring softly on his back. The room lightened allowing the light of day to shine through the windows. "Wha…" He grunted and rolled over trying to avoid the light.

"Good morning sir, Miss Potts asked me to wake you."

"Just as long as you don't wake me like she did." Tony grumbled.

"That would be impossible sir."

"Figure of speech Jarvis." Tony sat up and dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a shirt. He stretched and headed down to face his future in-laws.

"Hey, there he is." Gloria was the first to notice Tony as he entered the kitchen. She immediately moved over and gave him a hug. It took Tony by surprise but he went along with it. "Come, have some breakfast." She took his hand and led him to the breakfast bar.

He smiled at Pepper as she slid over a glass of juice. As she was pulling her hand back Tony reached out and stopped her. He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. His thumb grazed over her fingers and stopped on her ring finger. "I think you need something more official." Tony kissed her hand before letting it go.

Gloria's eyes widened as she observed the interaction between Tony and her daughter. Pepper noticed and turned to her parents. "Umm, Tony asked me to marry him."

Ken sat back and kept his expression neutral as Gloria went over and hugged her daughter. "Oh I hope you said yes."

While Pepper was locked in her mother's embrace, Ken stood and approached Tony. He held out his hand. Tony only hesitated briefly before shaking the older man's hand. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Tony wasn't sure how to react but figured this show of appreciation was good.

Ken leaned in closer and whispered to Tony. "Break her heart and I'll break more than your face."

"Duly noted." Tony put on a fake smiled as Gloria moved over to embrace him. He watched as Pepper hugger and was congratulated by her father. The man was understanding of him, but he was still going to be a pain in his ass.

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><p>Well, now things seem to be headed in the right direction, for the moment but I have plans to throw a wrench in this happiness.<p>

Thanks for reading.

TDCSI


	6. Chapter 6

Well I can't thank those of you who have reviewed enough. I've gotten several ideas from people on what road this story should take. Don't worry I'll stick to action and angst.

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

"Honey, which glasses should I wear?" Tony was standing in front of the glass that reflected his image as he looked over the bay. He was dressed in a dark striped shirt that hid the arc reactors light, and a pair of black slacks. While looking over his appearance, Tony would switch back and forth between two different sets of sunglasses that had different tints of lenses.

Pepper walked out of the bathroom and laughed at him. "Tony, you're going to be inside, why on earth do you need sunglasses?"

"Because it's me." He turned with his silver framed Initium aviator style shades. Tony held out his arms. "You like?"

With a laugh Pepper walked out of the bedroom leaving Tony to finish pimping himself out. "Hey Rhodes."

"Hey." Col. Rhodes watched as Pepper walked past him and towards the living room. He sat and waited until Tony made his appearance. "About time man."

"I had to look good for TV." Tony patted his friend on the shoulder. "Come on let's roll."

Tony drove them towards downtown Los Angeles. With the way Tony drove he made the time fly by as at times Rhodes felt they would crash, but Tony skillfully maneuvered the car down the highway without incident. When Tony pulled up to the private entrance to the Staples center Rhodes let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God."

With a laugh Tony got out of the car and he and Rhodes were shown a secure way into the building. They were escorted to their seats and once there Tony greeted and shook hands with several of the players that were on the court warming up. Rhodes took his seat and watched his friend showboat as Tony did best.

The cameras caught sight of Tony and rushed in. He threw his signature sign in the air. "Great night for a game isn't it?" The cheerleaders came over and surrounded him. "Oh, my look at all these pretty girls." He put his arms around the two closest to him. "Smile for the camera ladies." They were shaking their pompoms while the camera was on them.

As the cheerleaders left Tony, several of them kissed his cheek. He smiled at them before moving over to sit next to his friend. "You're crazy."

"You say that a lot about me Rhodey."

"Well because it's true."

Tony smiled and patted his friend on the back. "Sit back and enjoy the game Rhodey."

Pepper had the screen on the broadcast of the game while she was working on items that Katie had emailed to her. She was using the game as background noise while she read over several letters forwarded to her that came from Senators Stern's office. She despised the man but he was the liaison for the government. Her eyes scanned over the orders as to what weapons were to be shipped to what stations. Pepper carefully scanned each destination. She and Tony had compiled a list of places that he had deemed questionable and were not to receive any shipments without further investigation.

She noticed that one of the required destinations was suspiciously close to one of the questionable areas. Pepper sent approval to only one of the two locations and she flagged the other one pending Tony's direct approval, it was just another reason why she despised the man so much. She closed the email and opened files on information of the weapons the senator had requested. While the files were opening the commentator from the game caught her attention.

'_As always here to root on his beloved Nicks, is award winning director Spike Lee. And we also have the Iron Man, Tony Stark who appears to have the attention of the cheerleading squad.'_

Pepper looked up at the screen as it showed Tony sitting in his seat with a cheerleader on each leg. He was smiling brightly as he had his hands around each of their waists. At first she found it harmless fun and Tony being Tony, but then something deep inside of her felt betrayed. He had just asked her to commit her life to him, but his actions at the moment on national television were speaking louder than words.

She swallowed hard and continued to watch Tony as he openly flirted with the two women sitting in his lap. Tears formed in her eyes as the feeling of betrayal grew. Pepper jumped as her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and inwardly groaned. Pepper knew her father was watching the same thing she was and he was only going to inform her about Tony's actions in public. She ignored the call and as she suspected he left a voice mail and then tried to call her back immediately. The sight before her became too much and Pepper walked away from the screen and went to the bedroom she shared with Tony. Jarvis turned off the monitor on the glass once Pepper had left.

Once the game was over Tony and Rhodes were escorted back to where his car was waiting for him. The raced back to Malibu and once at the mansion Rhodes headed for his car. "Hey, Rhodey, why don't you hang out for a bit, I'd like to show you what I've done to the suits." It took him a moment to respond but agreed and followed Tony into the house. "Pepper, we're back."

"I'm afraid Miss Potts isn't here."

Both Tony and Rhodes froze at the figure standing in the living room. They hesitated before Tony was the first to approach the man. "What are you doing here? And where's Pepper?"

"She was gone when I arrived. I'm sure your showboating with other women on national television might have something to do with that." Nick Furry walked closer to Tony. "But right now I've got bigger fish to fry, and I'm going to need you two to do the frying."

"Not until after I talk to Pepper." Tony started to walk away when Agent Romanoff stepped in his path.

"We have information that US fighter planes are going to be attacked while on air patrols in a no fly zone near the Middle East. And we have a strong suspicion that they are to be attacked by your SAM's. The people responsible for this cannot know that the US was informed because the leak came from inside." Tony narrowed his eyes at Agent Romanoff before turning around to look at Nick. "I need you two to pack some gear and suit up. You're authorized for a landing on the USS Ronald Regan. There you will be on standby until the time of the proposed strike, then you will neutralize the threat and return here with a strict flight plan."

"Why us, why now?" Tony stood before the larger man.

"Your suits are barely visible on radar and can fly in undetected, that and you're not technically working for the government."

"But I am." Rhodes stepped forward.

Nick looked at the Colonel. "Not at this time."

"What?" Rhodes strode up to Nick. "You just can't have me discharged."

Tony stood back knowing what this meant for his friend. "Rhodes…" He grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him back. "Look, you want to do something that helps, and I mean really helps; then let these events play out. Trust me, it's going to happen whether you like it or not."

"They are talking about my life Tony."

"Yes, I know I get that, but think of the good we can do. Working for a government agency that doesn't exist, and you get to be and do what you desire in here." Tony pointed at his friend's chest. "Do this with me, please."

Rhodes wasn't happy about the situation but he knew his military career was close to over anyway, and these people were speeding up the process. "Fine."

"Good." Nick started. "What you need is on the carrier, pack several changes of clothes and leave them with Agent Romanoff; she'll send them to you on the carrier." Nick walked past them and out the door.

As Tony and Rhodes split up to pack as Nick Furry asked them, Tony tried calling Pepper's phone. It rang several times before going to voice mail. "Hey Pep, look um I got home and you were gone. I assume you're with your parents. Ummm, I'm sorry if you saw anything on TV about me at the game, I obviously wasn't thinking, but look; please call me right back after you listen to this. Rhodey and I are preparing to leave for an aircraft carrier in the Middle East and I'd really like to hear your voice and tell you how much I love you before I go." He ended the call and sat down on the bed. "Where is she Jarvis?"

"Miss Potts is indeed at her parents' home. She left several hours ago rather upset."

Tony sighed and looked at his reflection in the glass. "Smooth move, genius." He ran his hands through his hair and continued to pack. He descended the stairs as an idea flashed through his mind and Tony was quick to act upon it. He tossed his duffle bag on the ground and ran to his car. The engine roared to life as he sped the short distance to the small home he purchased for Ken and Gloria. The car screeched to a halt behind Pepper's and Tony ran to the door. He knocked furiously. "Pepper, open the door. We need to talk about this."

Inside Pepper was having coffee with her parents when the knocking started. Ken looked at his daughter who had finally calmed down and now the look on her face was all he needed to see to increase his rage. He went to the door and threw it open. "She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Please, I need to see her. Pepper, please!" Ken pushed Tony back. "I'm warning you Ken."

"And I'm through warning you Tony." He swung only to miss as Tony ducked and punched him in the stomach knocking the wind out of him. Ken kneeled on the ground and gasped for breath as Tony walked into the house.

"Pepper." Tony entered the small kitchen and saw the irritation on her face. "Pepper, please…" His voice softened as he stood several feet from her and Gloria. "Please, I'm trying to change, I really am, and you know how I am when the center of attention, you knew this before, and I can't promise you that any part of that will change, but…"

"You had your hands all over those women!" Pepper quickly interrupted.

"I know, and I'm sorry, like I said, I'm trying, I want to change." She continued to stare at him not giving him the benefit of looking away and showing her weakness. "I don't know what I can do to prove to you that you're all I want. I need you Pepper." Tony paused as she continued to look at him. "Look, Nick Furry was at the house when we got back. Rhodey and I have to leave for a boat near the Atlantic."

Pepper blinked several times as his words filtered through her anger. "What? How long?"

Tony shook his head. "I don't know I'm not even sure what we're going to be doing, but he's recruited Rhodey as well and this mission is off the books."

She stood from her chair and moved to stand before him. As she looked him over he appeared to have that abused lost puppy dog look and it always melted her heart. Pepper tried to make herself smile but it quickly faded. "Be careful."

Without a second thought Tony embraced her and held her tightly against him. "I will." After holding her for a few minutes Tony pulled away. "I love you." She smiled and he softly kissed her lips.

"I love you too." Tears rolled down Pepper's face as he released her hands and stepped away.

Tony walked outside where Ken was sitting on the hood of Pepper's car still catching his breath. "You okay? I'm sorry I had to…um…well, you did swing first." Ken just glared at Tony. "Right. Bye." He climbed into his car and sped back to the mansion.

"Where the hell did you go?" Rhodes asked as Tony walked through the doors.

"I had to make things right with Pepper. Ready?" He breezed past his friend and headed for the stairs. "Come on Rhodey, you're always last one to the party."

They went down and suited up and Iron Man took off followed by War Machine. Their heading took them across the mainland in a direct route to the Mediterranean Sea. "Initializing communications check." Jarvis' voice echoing through their helmets.

"Read ya loud and clear Jarvis." Tony responded.

"This is Rhodes, coms good." As they went supersonic towards their destination he couldn't help but think about what his future was going to hold now that he didn't have a military career.

"Why are you so quiet Rhodey?" Tony asked as they spend through the clouds in darkness.

It took him a few seconds to respond. "Just thinking about my non-existent career."

"Yeah, sorry about that. But just think you won't have a bunch of people breathing down your neck, just a one eyed giant." Rhodes laughed at his friend. "Hey, you'll have most days off during the year, and the rest of the perks aren't that bad."

"How would you know?"

"Well I don't know, but I just…well it just seems like the right thing to do." Tony went silent for a moment. "After what happened in that cave, when I saw what those men were planning to do with the weapons I provided our troops to use to protect this country were instead sold to harm them…"

"Tony, it's okay, I get it." Rhodes had always tried to imagine what his friend had gone through while in captivity, only to come out of it with a different outlook on life.

They continued on and as dawn was rising over the sea the carrier came into view and they dropped their altitude below radar flying mere feet above the sea's surface.

"_Unidentified craft, this is Mustang, identify yourself."_

"Mustang, this is Iron Man, requesting clearance to land, code in Alpha-five-seven-three." Tony waited patiently as Jarvis indicated the artillery lock on the HUD.

"_Roger that Iron Man, clearance approved, touch down mid-deck."_

"Copy." Tony changed heading with Rhodes flanking his left side. "So Rhodey, ever landed on an aircraft carrier in a flying metal suit?"

Rhodes laughed "Can't say that I have."

They shared a laugh. "Jarvis, a little help."

"The carrier is traveling at approximately 20 knots, may I recommend a parallel approach from the port side, before crossing over the deck." Jarvis offered.

Rhodes followed Tony as they flew up alongside the aircraft carrier before moving over the deck. They touched down together in a similar manner before standing straight up. When the helmets flipped back the small crowd around them clapped. A uniformed man approached them. "Mr. Stark, Colonel Rhodes, would you follow me please sirs." Their metal feet clanged on the deck as they stopped in a certain area. The floor began to drop as they were taken below deck. "Follow me please." Their feet drew the attention of the crew members on duty. "Over here we have the equipment set up. Petty Officer Hayes and Meyer can assist you in getting out of your suits. Your luggage is several hours out and we'll bring it to you upon its arrival."

"Thank you Major." Rhodes stepped forward towards the two men.

Tony instructed them on what was needed to disassemble the suit. Once free of the metal, Tony and Rhodes aided them in hanging the suits properly until needed. Tony then removed the arc reactor powering the War Machine. "I'll keep this." He pocketed the power source.

They were taken to a private two bunked barrack. Rhodes knew what to expect however Tony did not. He looked around the tiny room. "Problem?" Rhodes asked.

"Are they joking with this?" He turned around and faced his friend. "This room is the size of a prison cell."

"How do you know how big a prison cell is?"

"That's beside the point, this room is ridiculously small. It's what…maybe ten by ten? And look at these beds…"

"Tony, this is typical set up for barracks on a ship."

"You're kidding right? Our men fighting on these ships sleep in these tiny rooms?" Tony sat on the single mattress bed.

Rhodes sat down across from him. "Majority of the barracks are larger and have nine to twelve beds." Tony's jaw dropped and he laughed at his friend. A knock at the door came. "Come in."

The door opened. "Sir, I'm Lieutenant Commander Sherry Ross." Tony looked at his friend and tipped his head towards the woman. "Captain Miller wants me to welcome you to the USS Ronald Reagan, and that if there's anything you gentleman need please don't hesitate to ask."

She started to leave when Tony's voice stopped her. "Yes, actually there is something." Tony grinned at his friend. "When's the next time you're back in the states?"

Lt. Com. Ross smiled at Tony. "Rumor has it that you already have a girlfriend."

"Ah, yes, engaged actually, but I'm not asking for me, my friend Colonel Rhodes here is on the market. He's very reserved…"

"Tony."

"He enjoys candlelight dinners…"

"Tony."

"Surfing, you're in the Navy so you both like water." Tony looked between the two. Ross blushed while Rhodes stared at his friend. "And you're both shy, a match made in heaven."

"Tony." Rhodes spoke through gritted teeth and stood. "Thank you Lieutenant Commander Ross. I'm sure we'll be in touch." He closed the door and turned back to his friend. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Me, look at you, pretty military woman that nearly outranks you and you sit there without a pickup line?"

"I saw her."

"She's pretty."

"Yes she is Tony, I noticed." Rhodes commented.

"So why just sit there and say nothing, I mean beautiful girl walks in…"

"I get it Tony." Rhodes sat on his small bed and laid down.

Tony grinned. "You need a girl Rhodey. Especially now that you don't have to answer to Uncle Sam anymore."

"Drop it Tony."

"Okay, I'm just saying." He then lay back on his own small bed. Tony shifted around uncomfortably. "It's a good thing I'm tired otherwise there's no way I could fall asleep on this hard bed."

With the late night in which they left California and losing time during the flight both men were exhausted. Tony had a fitful sleep as did Rhodes. The ship seemed to move constantly, and there was a consistent roar from the planes taking off and landing as they practiced maneuvers. Eventually Tony woke and pulled on the leather jacket that was hanging in the room. He left Rhodes sleeping as he decided to take a walk.

Tony strolled around the level until he was stopped by the Lieutenant Commander. "Miss Ross."

"Mr. Stark, you're not supposed to be out of your barracks. Technically you and Colonel Rhodes aren't here." She smiled at him.

"Ah, the special invisible guests." She nodded at him. "So what exactly are we doing here?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"But you do know?" She didn't acknowledge his question. "Can I ask you a question, hypothetically of course, how far up the chain of command are you wanting to go? Cause you know my pal Rhodey is a retiring Colonel and looking to settle down."

She took his arm and turned him around. "Mr. Stark, my life is my business, but I do think Colonel Rhodes is very attractive."

Tony's eyebrows rose. "So, would I be able to interest you…"

"Mr. Stark, your room."

"Thanks." Tony walked through the open door and closed it behind him. He glanced around before going over to lay on the bed again. "Bored!"

Rhodes stirred and opened his eyes. "What now Tony?"

"I can't do this."

"Do what?"

"We're trapped in this tiny ass room." Tony turned his head and looked at his friend. "This is ridiculous."

They were brought lunch and escorted to a private shower room. Lieutenant Commander Ross then presented them with an 'eyes only' folder in which Rhodes took it upon himself to open and read once they were alone. "It says here that they suspect Senator Stern and possibly another representative may be profiting from illegal arms sales."

"Stern's doing all of the ordering from my company now." Tony looked over the file. "That son of a bitch!"

Rhodes read on. "Since there is no likely proof yet, I guess that's our job. It says here that while the aircraft are engaging the enemy, we are to engage the ground to air assault." He glanced up as his friend paced the small room. "It says here that they believe the enemy possesses the K-9 heat seeking SAM missile." Rhodes' face fell to shock.

Tony wanted to punch the wall. "How on earth did these people get such a sophisticated piece of military equipment?" He sat down and rubbed his hands over his face. "Okay, I know this thing, I designed it, and it's not going to be easy to get rid of once in the air."

"How does it work?"

"When the missile is fired, the computer locks onto the specific heat signature the target gives off, like a plane's exhaust. It's designed specifically for avoiding decoys like flares. But that's not the cool part." Tony looked into his friend's eyes as he delivered the bad news. "Once this thing has a heat signature lock, and the missile is avoided on the first pass, it has the capabilities to make a second pass at the target."

Rhodes couldn't believe what he was hearing and closed his eyes. "Great, so how do we avoid a direct hit?"

Tony shrugged. "We'll have to improvise. Be smarter, faster, because this thing can knock us out of the sky." They sat silent for a moment when suddenly the alarms blared. "What the hell is going on Rhodey?"

"That's an alert that crews need to get to their planes." He explained.

A sudden knock came at the door and opened. "Let's move." Lieutenant Commander Ross led them back to where their suits were stored. "Radar picked up ten fighters heading to out our location. The captain is scrambling the fighters so this is it, we need you guys airborne."

Tony handed Rhodes the arc reactor for his suit as he approached his. They were both in armor within minutes. Lieutenant Commander Ross watched on as the two men transformed in front of her. They followed her to the lift and they waited. The sounds of jets taking off roared above them. Instructions were shouted over a loudspeaker and they were taken to the flight deck. Lieutenant Commander Ross walked them over near the tower. "Where are we going?" Tony asked.

"Your suits are connected with a computer." Tony nodded. "You have access to the file 'Blackbriar'. Use access code 5-4-9-0 and you'll get all of your coordinates. Good luck gentleman." She retreated to the tower.

The helmets clanged closed. "Jarvis you awake?"

"At your service sir."

"Access the ships computer, file name Blackbriar, use code 5-4-9-0." He looked to his friend. "You ready for this?" Rhodes nodded.

"Access granted, I'm uploading the information to your displays now." Jarvis reported.

A flight deck operator approached them. "This way." The last plane took off and they stopped and watched in which direction the plane headed. The operator held up his hands and counted down. At zero both Tony and Rhodes took to the sky.

Tony led the way as they flew to an altitude above the fighting Raptors. Jarvis had hacked into the ships communications allowing Tony and Rhodes to listen in as the pilots talked between themselves and the ship. The display began to blink rapidly. "Sir, K-9 missiles detected four miles ahead."

"Rhodey?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Jarvis, locate all of them. Rhodey, let's hit the deck."

They dove to fly just feet over the seas surface. "Missile lock." Jarvis informed them.

"How do we avoid this thing?" Rhodes asked as they neared land.

With a sigh he responded. "Lots of luck."

"Missile incoming." Came their warning.

"Rhodey, fly as close, maybe we can trick it into thinking we're one target." Tony suggested and they flew as close as they could as the missile approached. "On my command break." They continued on course until Jarvis gave the signal. "Break!"

They split off and the missile traveled between them. "Now what?"

"We have to get to the launch site." Tony stated and they continued on target.

"The missile has regained lock on your heat signatures." Jarvis informed them. Both Tony and Rhodes continued on. "The missile is gaining."

"Just keep moving!" Tony gritted his teeth and pushed on.

"Missile platform in sight." Rhodes' heads up locked on to the target. "I'm locked on."

"Hold on one more second. You blow it then we'll land on the back side behind the flames, which should detour the missile." Tony instructed. "Blow it!"

War Machine fired several long range missiles. They hit the target exploding the remaining missiles on the platform. Both Tony and Rhodes landed behind the fireball and began taking on fire from the men around the former missile platform. They fired back and the missile in pursuit of them landed in the middle of the fire and exploded. Both Tony and Rhodes were thrown from the force of the blast as the explosion killed all of the insurgents.

Rhodes felt light headed as he came around. His HUD rebooted and the War Machine came back to life. He stood and looked around. "Tony." Rhodes continued to look. "Jarvis." The AI attempted to communicate but the words were breaking up. "Jarvis…dammit." He searched around from the where he remembered Tony last standing. While scanning the area Rhodes noticed a red metal foot sticking out from behind a rock. "Tony!" Rhodes ran over as his helmet flipped open. He rolled his friend. "Tony!" The eyes were unlit indicating that the suit was offline, but what more disturbing was that the chest piece dim.

He looked around and saw a cluster of rocks. Rhodes decided that he needed to hide Tony for the time being. After checking the area was secure, Rhodes drug his friend to the rocks and stood next to him. The moral dilemma was killing him; his friend way laying injured and he still had a mission to finish. He kneeled down and activated the switch that opened the Iron Man helmet.

Tony was unconscious. "Tony." Rhodes tapped the side of the helmet making a clanging noise as his metal finger hit the side of the helmet. "Tony please." He got no response, and his only indication that his friend was still alive was the slight flare of his nostril as he inhaled and exhaled. Rhodes closed the helmet and stood. He looked at his surroundings before glancing down at his friend. Rhodes located the tracking device plugged into Jarvis' system and activated it. He knew only Jarvis could pick up the signal. "Sorry buddy, I know you'd do the same thing if it was me."

Rhodes closed his helmet and took off leaving his friend behind. His HUD directed him to the next target. He was upon it so quickly that the insurgents didn't have time to react as he blew up the missile platform and sped off to the last known location of a missile platform. As he approached his display indicated a missile lock. He sped towards the oncoming missile and locked it on target with his own Stark Industries weapon. Rhodes fired right before he was forced to avoid the missile.

Tony's new upgrade to his suit was a projecting explosive that stuck to its target before detonating seconds later. Rhodes continued on as the missile disappeared from his display. He swallowed the lump in his throat before landing next to the last missile platform. He started taking on gunfire and quickly eliminated the targets before taking flight and destroying the target. Once he was sure the insurgents were killed, Rhodes returned to the group of rocks where he left his friend.

He circled the area before landing to make sure there was no threat and touched down near the lifeless Iron Man. His facemask flipped open. "Tony, I'm back." He kneeled and activated his own tracking signal hoping that help would soon arrive.

* * *

><p>Well crap, the superhero is down. Will he live, or will I be cruel enough to kill him? The answer you seek is in the reviewer's opinion. Muahahahahaha.<p>

TDCSI


	7. Chapter 7

I know some of you think I'm cruel and insane…I agree with the insane part as even my coworkers would tell you the same. So, without further a due, I'll let you read on.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

Rhodes sat with Tony until night fall. Unable to see in the dark, he closed the helmet and utilized the night vision his suit offered. Hours past as he tried to communicate with Jarvis but there was significant damage to parts of his suit leaving him without coms.

As the night drew on Rhodes considered flying back to the ship and alerting them that Tony needed help, but since they weren't technically on board said ship, a recuse mission wouldn't be approved to aid someone that wasn't supposed to be there. So he sat tight and waited hoping Jarvis would get help.

Hours past and Rhodes continued to stay awake for his friend as they awaited help. Suddenly an approaching aircraft was heard. It didn't sound anything like he had heard before so he rolled Tony onto his side preventing the light from his suit being seen as he hid his own and watched the aircraft move overhead before landing.

Rhodes stood and watched on as several men exited the large craft armed. They spread out around the ship gun raised looking for any threat. He remained still until a familiar form walked off. Agent Romanoff with Nick Furry followed the lead on a device she held which was taking them right to his location. As they approached Nick stopped her. He saw the glowing eyes watching them from the darkness. "Colonel Rhodes, we followed your transponders with the help of Tony's computer."

After ensuring everyone was there to help, Rhodes picked up Tony and flew over the rocks before landing next to Nick. His helmet flipped back. "He's alive, that's all I know."

"Get him on board. We'll be back in California before sunrise." Nick ordered.

Rhodes secured Tony before sitting next to him. The aircraft lifted into the air and sped off. Natasha kneeled next to Tony and opened his helmet. She put several probes on his neck and began monitoring his vitals. "His chest piece was badly damaged in the explosion, and unlike the one running your suit, his also keeps him alive."

"I'm aware." Rhodes snapped back.

Nick approached him. "We have a situation."

* * *

><p>Pepper spent the night Tony left at her parents and only returned home to prepare for work the following day. Katie met her outside of Stark Industries to inform her of the day's agenda. She listened as they walked to the elevator and Pepper was able to remember the majority of what her assistant told her but in the back of her mind, her thoughts wandered to Tony. The first thing she had to do when she walked into her and Tony's office was take a phone call from Senator Stern.<p>

He was questioning why one of his requested shipments was put on hold, and it was obvious to Pepper that as she tried to explain that it was pending Tony's approval, the senator began to get more irritated with her.

"Look Miss Potts, there's nothing sketchy about that destination. There are troops in place in the region ready to accept the weapons." He tried to convince her.

Pepper sighed trying to detour the senator. "Senator Stern, I can't speak for Mr. Stark on this issue, I'm just following the protocols that were implemented by him."

"Well then you can take responsibility for those weapons not reaching the troops that need them." He threatened.

"It's not like they are defenseless. I'm not approving the shipment Senator, it's plain and simple. You're not going to bully me into this." Pepper defended.

"We need those weapons Miss Potts, and I'm going to get those weapons. You're no match for me Miss Potts, no matter who you're screwing."

The line went dead and Pepper sat in shock. She had never had someone try to get into her head as bad as Stern just had. She still had a slight fear of Justin Hammer, but since he was taken into SHIELD custody, she knew there was no way he was getting out. Now she was being threatened by a sitting Senator. A part of her just thought about approving the shipment but she knew Tony wouldn't like the area it was headed.

"Miss Potts." Katie entered the office. "There's a budget meeting in ten minutes." She looked over Peppers expression. "Is everything okay?"

Pepper shook her head clear. "Um, yes, everything is fine."

The day went smoothly as usual for her and she drove home. Jarvis greeted her with an update that Tony was currently safe, although he couldn't disclose much more information. It was enough to make her feel better. She talked to her mother that evening before watching the latest news channels and going to sleep.

She woke early the next morning while it was still dark to Jarvis alerting her that her mother was trying to call. Pepper listened to the messages and tried to phone back but no one answered. She sighed. "I guess I'll go see what she wants."

"May I suggest using caution; I detected stress in Gloria's voice." Jarvis suggested.

"I will, I'm sure it's nothing big." Pepper dressed quickly and headed over to her parents' home.

When she pulled into the drive she noticed the house was completely dark. She approached the front door thinking that if her mother was up and had called her there would be a light on. Unsure of the situation Pepper eased the door open and looked around without saying a word. She stepped quietly into the kitchen when the lights suddenly came on causing her to gasp.

Her parents were bound and gagged on the ground in the dining room next to several masked men. Pepper eased open the drawer she knew knives were in and slipped her hand inside. A man appeared behind her and slammed the drawer shut on her hand. She screamed as the man grabbed her.

When she tried to fight him off, he managed to get his arm around her throat. "Settle down Miss Potts."

Pepper stilled as the intruder spoke her name. "What do you want?"

"Just you." The man then wrestled with her as he tried to cover her nose and mouth with a rag. She knew it was a fight for survival and struggled as much as she could. Eventually he succeeded and Pepper slowly slipped unconscious. "Get her in the car."

"What about these two?"

"We follow through with the plan." The man left leaving two behind. They knocked for Ken and Gloria uncurious and placed them into their bed. Before leaving one man turned on the stove and lit a candle.

They waited outside as the leaking gas from the stove ignited and the home caught on fire. Once flames engulfed the entire house they left for the rendezvous place.

Once Pepper woke and she shook off the dizziness and tried to see her surroundings, but the entire room was dark. She tried move but found her hands tied behind her back. Pepper sat up on the small makeshift bed she was on. Her brain started thinking of why she was taken and then her conversation with Senator Stern came to light. She knew the senator had connections and had been in office long enough to have some nasty people in his pocket. Pepper tried to see around the room, and could tell the she was alone. Concern for the fate of her parents began to worry her but, at the moment all she could do was sit and wait.

* * *

><p>As the aircraft crossed the pacific headed for Malibu, Nick sat next to Rhodes as he looked at a still unconscious Tony. "So what's the situation?"<p>

"We got an alert from Tony's home computer. It appears that Pepper has disappeared, and her parents' home burned to the ground. Their bodies were found in the ashes." He watched the younger man's reaction.

Rhodes' mouth fell open in shock. "I can't believe…"

"I know, look we have a team in place investigating this, and we'll find Pepper. Right now we've got to get him back on his feet." He pointed at Tony.

An hour later the aircraft landed on the helipad at the Malibu mansion. Rhodes carried Tony straight through the open garage door Jarvis offered. "Place him on the table." Jarvis spoke as Dummy and Butterfingers patiently waited. Once on the table the robots began stripping the metal suit off Tony. "Scanning vitals." While Jarvis was finishing his scan on his friend, Rhodes was stripped of his suit and returned to Tony's side. "It appears there is a piece of shrapnel in the arc reactor."

"Can it be removed?" Rhodes asked while looking over his friend.

"It will take some time, but yes."

Nick stepped forward and placed a hand on Rhodes' shoulder. "I'm going to leave. I need to find out what my men have discovered so far on the investigation into the deaths of Pepper's parents." He and Natasha then left leaving Rhodes standing over his friend as Jarvis began.

"If I may ask you to place a palladium core in the old arc reactor please." Jarvis asked Rhodes.

"Wait, isn't that what was killing him?" He questioned the computer.

"The palladium poisoning takes months, we will only need hours to repair the reactor, and he cannot live that long without it." Rhodes went to retrieve what Jarvis had asked for and pulled Tony's old arc reactor from his storage box. He returned to Tony and removed the damaged reactor and replaced it with the palladium reactor.

Seconds after locking into Tony's chest, the light shined brightly and Tony awakened gasping for air. Rhodes gripped his bare shoulders holding him down. "It's okay, it's okay, Tony we're safe, you're home."

Tony's chest heaved as he looked around his familiar workshop. "How…?"

"Long story. Look your reactor was damaged; Jarvis had me put your old one in while he repairs your newer one." He looked around at the robots working before turning his attention back to his friend. "Just rest, you'll be good as new in a few hours." Tony tried to sit up. "Tony, come on stay still."

"Rhodey, I'm not dead. I'm sore, hungry and I've got to pee." He reached for his friends arm and with help managed to sit up. Tony groaned and looked down at his chest. He closed his eyes for a moment before glancing over to where Jarvis had Dummy move the reactor where he could begin diagnostics on the repair.

"Hey, you want a hand?"

Tony slid off the table and stood on shaky legs. "No, I'll be fine." He went to the bathroom in the back of the workshop.

Rhodes knew the inevitable question was going to come up at one point, but he wasn't going to breech the subject first. "Are you going to tell him?" Jarvis asked.

He sighed. "If I don't he's going to ask and I can't lie to him about something like this."

"Lie to me about what?" Tony suddenly appeared.

His eyes were locked onto Tony's and even though Rhodes knew how Tony was going to react, he knew he needed to tell him. He exhaled deeply. "While we were on our mission, it appears an ops team took Ken and Gloria hostage to get to Pepper." Tony's eyes widened as he continued. "They took Pepper and burned the house with her parents still inside."

"What!" Tony looked around the area franticly. "Let me put some clothes on."

"Tony."

"I've got to…I don't know, but I'm not going to sit around here." He ran off towards his room.

Rhodes looked around as his eyes landed on Tony's white Audi. "Jarvis, alert Director Fury that Tony knows about Pepper and we're about to head over to the house."

"Immediately."

Tony returned dressed and jumped into the car. He started the car barely waiting for his friend to climb in before he drove off. The car raced the short distance down the coast before skidding to a stop near the pile of burnt rubble. His feet quickly carried him past the yellow crime scene tape and to where the edge of the ashes. Rhodes leaned against the car and watched as Tony stood frozen looking over the remains of the house.

Tony's eyes stung as he recalled the last encounter he had with her parents and only hoped that they didn't suffer their last moments on earth. He swallowed hard and looked around once again before heading back to the car. Tony sat behind the wheel unmoved as Rhodes silently went to sit beside him.

"I need to think." Tony brought the car to life and turned back towards his mansion. As the car stopped Rhodes sat remaining in the seat as did Tony. "Jarvis."

"Yes Sir."

"When was the last time Pepper was here? I want to retrace her steps after I left." Tony and Rhodes watched as Jarvis displayed Pepper's movements around the mansion. The tape started when Pepper entered the mansion the evening before going to Stark Industries. Jarvis then showed security footage from his company starting with Pepper's phone call with Senator Stern.

"Who's she talking to?" Rhodes asked first.

"One moment." Jarvis said before he uploaded the phone call.

Tony and Rhodes remained sitting in the convertible as Pepper's unfriendly conversation with Senator Stern echoed through the workshop.

"Wait, Jarvis, what shipment are they talking about?" Tony interrupted and Jarvis displayed the weapons request emailed to Stark Industries by the senator.

"The shipment Pepper refused to approve of was only a few clicks from where we were." Rhodes pointed out.

The pieces began falling into place. "They suspected arms deals within the government; this all has to start with Stern."

"Yeah, but Tony he's a sitting United States senator. We can't be running around throwing out accusations." Rhodes spoke honestly. "It's going to be nearly impossible to tie Stern with Pepper's abduction."

"Right now, we need to find Pepper." Tony quickly climbed from his car and rushed to sit behind his desk. "Jarvis, access satellite feed from the military satellite that looks over Edwards.

"I'm not sure if that's entirely legal."

"Just do it Jarvis." Tony demanded. Rhodes stood next to his friend as a live satellite feed came through. "Now go back to the night of the fire." They watched as the screen changed showing the house in the dark.

"There." Rhodes pointed out the dark figure approaching the back of the house and entering by breaking down the door.

They continued to watch as Pepper arrived and was then minutes later carried out and put into a black jeep. "Jarvis, follow the jeep." As the screen followed the jeep the realization hit Tony. "Is there an APB on Pepper's car?"

As the screen followed the vehicle in question, Jarvis responded to his question. "Yes, there is an alert out on Miss Potts' personal vehicle with the local police and FBI office. So far there has been no reported sighting of her car."

"The jeep is heading north." Rhodes spoke up.

"Right up the highway." Tony stood and headed back to his car and his friend quickly followed. "Jarvis we're going north, keep following the jeep and update us as needed."

"Absolutely." The AI responded.

Tony sped out of his garage and up the Pacific coast highway at a high rate of speed. Rhodes took out his phone and alerted Nick Fury that they were tracking the vehicle Pepper was taken in by satellite. He hung up his phone and glanced at Tony. "Lake Casitas. They are watching a small cabin on the lakes' island."

The car responded as Tony pushed the accelerator down harder. They made the short time of the drive and Tony pulled up alongside two black Hummers. "Is she in there?"

Nick stopped his forward progress. "I've got a team about to make landfall on the island. We'll know in a few minutes if she's in there. We want these guys alive so we can find out who's behind this."

"We think it was Stern." Tony blurted out.

"Yes, as do we, but he's not going to be easy to take down." Nick reminded him.

Tony was directed over to several screens that displayed what the agents were seeing as they advanced on the small cabin. Rhodes was hoping no harm would come to Pepper as they made their breech. Once in position they waited until they had conformation of all suspects. Nick gave the order and the ten agents stormed the small cabin.

The agents yelling orders at the suspects and several went down as instructed while others were not willing to go as easy. They opened fire and were shot in the process. While clearing the small dwelling they searched for Pepper. They went through every room and even found a trap door leading into a small underground bunker only to discover an explosive charge.

"It's gonna blow! Clear out!" The order was shouted and as all the agents tried to evacuate the bomb detonated.

Tony ran down to the shore. "Pepper!" He watched the small fireball rise out of the trees as his legs suddenly collapsed. "Pepper!" He screamed out loud before hunching over. Tears streaked down his face and his breathing became ragged. "Pepper." He whispered now as soft sobs echoed around him.

Rhodes followed his friend. He watched as Tony's anger faded into sorrow. Kneeling next to him all he could offer was a comforting hand on Tony's back assuring him he wasn't alone.

Once Tony seemed docile, Nick and Rhodes helped him sit in the passenger seat of his car while Rhodes piloted it back to Malibu. Tony was silent the entire trip and once there, refused his friends help. He went to sit behind his desk and slouched. "Leave me alone."

"No." Rhodes poured himself a glass of water and drank it. "You're in no condition to be left alone."

"Fine." Tony stood and removed the arc reactor from his chest. He hurled it at the floor effectively breaking it. "Now, give me ten minutes to die alone."

Rhodes walked up to his friend. "We don't know that she was in there."

"That's the only place she could have been!" As his heart raced under the duress of his anger, Tony suddenly began having a hard time breathing as his heart was finding it difficult to circulate his blood.

The computer chimed. "Sir, you've got an incoming video call."

His friend watched on from a distance as he tried to get control of himself. "Not now Jarvis." Tony sat back in his chair as Jarvis quickly disobeyed him.

The screen lit up showing Pepper tied to a chair. "Tony!"

"Pepper!" He answered back.

"Please, I don't know where I am." A man walked up to her and put a piece of tape over her mouth.

"Let her go!" Tony yelled.

"Trace this Jarvis." Rhodes instructed.

"She's fine for now, the cabin was a decoy, you're people were quick to find it. So now I've got to speed up my plans. I can assure you her safety unless we don't get what we need." The masked man spoke.

Tony was quickly faltering without the arc reactor and reached over to grab the repaired unit and shoved it into his chest. He gasped for air as it allowed his heart to resume a normal rhythm. "What is it that you want?"

"Weapons. Your weapons to be precise." The man pulled a knife and moved it around Pepper's head. She was clearly panicked at the man's movements.

"Just tell me and I'll get them, just please don't hurt her." He offered to negotiate.

"You'll be getting an email of a list within the next few minutes of what we want. It will also include a delivery location. There you can drop off our weapons, and pick up your pretty red head." The man stood in front of Pepper. "Don't get any bright ideas either."

The screen went blank and Tony slammed his hands on the desk. "Jarvis, anything?"

"I only got an area; they were bouncing the signal from several towers but…" The AI hesitated.

"Spill it Jarvis!" Tony shouted.

"The signals were all within the boundaries of Fort Irwin."

Rhodes narrowed his eyes as Tony turned to look at him in shock. "Are you going to alert Fury?"

Tony slightly shook his head. "No…" He returned his attention to the screen showing the satellite view of the Army base. "Jarvis get Happy here right now. Rhodey, I have a feeling we're going to need a few more people." He looked at his friend who nodded and pulled his cell phone before walking across the workshop floor. "Hang on Pepper, I'm coming."

* * *

><p>Pepper was returned to the darkened room she was being held in. "Can I at least have some light?" She questioned her captor.<p>

"Miss Potts, light is the least of your worries." He roughly sat her on the old bed. "Mr. Stark will have no choice but to meet our demands, so just sit tight. Everything will be over soon." Before leaving he handed her a bottle of water.

She drank only what was needed before putting the remaining water with the other partial bottles she was keeping. Her surroundings still gave no indication as to where she was, but upon investigating the room in the semi-darkness, she knew it was a building outside. The room would allow very little light during the day as the sun shone high, and she assumed it was near a desert since the room would heat up during the day and cool off at night. Pepper investigated the small cracks that allowed the light in, and discovered the rock around them crumbling. She searched her prison cell for anything to use to scrape away at the rock, but found nothing.

She sat back down in defeat and turned her thoughts to Tony. As she pictured him angered and already planning how to rescue her, the irony struck her. Tony was stuck in a dark cave for three months, and he managed to keep his sanity and escape. Pepper inhaled deeply and decided she wasn't going to just give in herself.

As she sat Pepper pulled a bobby pin from her hair. She stood next to the crack and listened for any indication someone might interrupt her. Once Pepper felt she was alone for a while, she began scraping at the mortar which crumbled easily. In thirty minutes she had the crack gaping open enough for her to see out of. As she suspected she could see mountains and sand. Several armed men were patrolling the area outside which appeared to be in the middle of nowhere.

For the moment she decided to stop and just rest as the sweltering heat began making her hot and drowsy. She knew she needed rest but the thought of sleeping at the moment was far from her mind. Pepper sat in the corner furthest from the door and dozed. She refused to fall into a deep sleep but allowed her tired body some rest. Her mind went to the fate of her parents. Deep down she assumed they were dead, and the fact that the men holding her never answered her questions about them only confirmed it. The night Tony left she had convinced her father that Iron Man posed no threat to her, only days later to find out that her own job was the greatest threat. She refused to send weapons Stern requested and after a heated argument with him, she ends up sitting in a dark room in the desert. She knew the man was behind all of it, but he also knew how to wipe his hands of any ties that would implicate him in any of the recent events. It ticked Pepper off, and then and there she was determined to make Stern pay for what he'd done to her family.

* * *

><p>Tony stood next to Happy as they finished dressing in the hanger at the Stark Industries airport. "You could have said no."<p>

Happy looked at his boss he also considered a friend. "Yeah, but you guys are my family too. I'm not about to turn my back when you need me most."

With a smile Tony patted the man's shoulder. The walked out to where four large Humvees sat waiting. "Tony, I'd like you to meet Captain Brice Young."

Tony shook hand with the man. "Thank you."

"When Colonel Rhodes told me what we were possibly up against it made me sick. These guys are no worse than the insurgents overseas and don't deserve to wear a uniform." The Captain spoke.

"Yeah, well their orders are coming straight from Capitol Hill, and their pay in is cash. I'd like to be able to have them questioned, but if they eat a bullet…" Tony shrugged bringing a smile to the Captain's face. "So…these are the latest satellite images of the area. The last call had signals here, here, and here. The only buildings in the area are this small bunker nestled between the two mountains."

"Right, as when I spoke to the commander at the base, he said that bunker has been cleared out for years, but this was thermal imaging from thirty minutes ago." He showed them a digital display. "Five men outside on a roving patrol and three people inside. We are assuming this person is your Pepper. The plan is a precision strike. We take out the patrols, place a charge on the outside of the wall where she's being held and blow it open." Tony's eyes grew large and the thought of something exploding near Pepper. "Don't worry, it's a shape charge only designed to make a hole, nothing more. From there we'll breech the bunker."

Tony nodded. "Can you get real time imaging?" Captain Young nodded. "Good, the drop off for the weapons is ten clicks to the south. Happy and I will show up as promised."

"I've got the coordinates and have two snipers escorting you, once we confirm Miss Potts is safe, the snipers will shoot the men meeting with you. Not fatally." He added.

Rhodes put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "It's going to work."

Tony sighed. "It has to work."

* * *

><p>I'm evil in more ways than one. Sorry it had to be like this but what's better than Tony having to be brave and fighting without Iron Man? Makes him much more attractive.<p>

TDCSI


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, so we're still going at this mess. Thanks for the reviews, I'm really enjoying them so keep 'em coming.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

Tony's legs restlessly moved back and forth as he and Happy sat in the middle of the desert. The sun was near set making the western horizon a brilliant shade of red. Happy knew his boss was becoming impatient by the second. They were setting the plan into action and for the moment all they could do was sit and wait.

He checked his watch. "They're forty minutes late, if something's wrong…" Tony speculated as headlights appeared in the distance ahead of them. He took several deep breaths.

Happy noticed and spoke without taking his eyes off the approaching lights. "Well, at least we've got body armor on."

"You keep thinking that, since these are the kind of guys who prefer a bullet to the head." Tony opened the car door and stepped out to stand in front of his car, Happy was quick to follow.

A large black jeep stopped fifty feet in front of him and two people got out, one carrying a gun. One of Stark Industries assault rifles to be specific and Tony noticed immediately. "Admiring your rifle, they are handy. So, now down to business."

"Where's Pepper?" Tony demanded as much as asked.

"She's safe, for now. Where are my missiles? I doubt that car can carry what I asked for." The man commented.

Tony smiled. "Here's the deal, I've got the missiles, they are in shipping crates with a legal manifest so you can get them wherever easily, but I'm not telling you where they are until I see Pepper." The man narrowed his eyes at Tony. "Right now!"

The other man half smiled at the billionaires demand. He picked up his radio. "Marshal." After a few seconds there was no response. "Marshal, put the woman on the radio." He repeated.

"If anything has happened to her…" Tony took several steps towards the man and Happy was watching the one with the gun closely. "She's here, or we leave and you'll never get your missiles."

"Marshal!" The man screamed into the radio.

Tony knew something was wrong. The extraction team was waiting on a signal from him to indicate that Pepper was alive. "Where is she?" he dared a few more steps.

"Answer dammit, or this Stark character isn't going to give up the weapons!" The man was now getting desperate as he yelled into the radio. They all stared at each other and the man with the gun now had it in a firing position aiming at Tony.

"Tony, don't give him anything, I'm fine." The familiar voice echoed from the radio.

"Pepper!" Tony exclaimed. He and the man locked eyes, both knew if Pepper was talking then there was a problem. Without warning Tony rushed the man holding the radio. Happy moved to the man with the gun when a single shot echoed through the area.

The man fell and Happy quickly removed his weapon and pointed it at the man who was shot. After ensuring he wasn't a threat he moved over to where Tony was wrestling the man that was negotiating. "Tony, I got you covered."

Tony ignored Happy's comment and fought with the man. He landed several punches to the man's face. Tony managed to catch a few hits to his own face and body, but the Kevlar vest protected him. He eventually got both hands around the man's throat and pushed down with all his might. With a desperate attempt to free himself, the man gripped Tony's wrists with his own hands and tried to push him back. But Tony was determined and with gritted teeth he squeezed harder.

"Mr. Stark." One of the snipers had come down from his perch. "Mr. Stark, let him up, we've got him covered."

Tony wasn't listening and he was filled with such rage he was going to kill this man with his bare hands. When the man choked and tried to breathe Happy put a hand on Tony's vest and started pulling him back. "Mr. Stark, let go." Happy pulled hard enough to get Tony off of the man, and he gasped for breath.

He inhaled deeply and coughed. Tony watched on as the snipers picked up the man and bound his hands behind his back. The man that was shot had died and was no longer a threat. Tony approached the man. "Where is she?" He didn't get an answer and Tony punched the man in the stomach successfully doubling him over.

"Ten clicks up this road." The man spit out the mouth full of blood he had accumulated from Tony's beating.

Tony rushed back to his car with Happy on his heels. He jumped in without opening the door and sped off up the dirt road.

* * *

><p>Pepper knew dusk was approaching and that she needed to act. While sitting on the ground she noticed the metal legs on the small bed. She moved over and began dismantling the frame. Several minutes later she held a three foot long piece of galvanized pipe. It would have to do. She watched out her small hole a vehicle leaving several minutes ago and decided now was time to act.<p>

She took the pipe and dug into the soft mortar not attempting to be quiet. Her goal was to get one of the men to come in. The pipe clanged loudly and she made several quick attempts to cause a ruckus then retreated behind where the door opens. Her adrenaline was practically spiking as she waited and as planed the door began to unlock. One of her guards entered haphazardly with a flashlight and looked at the wall. Pepper made her move and shut the door behind him causing him to turn towards her.

Pepper swung the pipe as if it was a baseball bat and struck the man across the face. He didn't have time to react and hit the ground. Anger fueled her and Pepper continued to hit the man with the pipe until he lay motionless. Her lungs heaved as she looked around the room.

The man's radio chirped to life as someone was trying to get a hold of him. Ignoring it Pepper dropped the pipe and picked up the man's hand gun. It was now or never and she left her prison room, but when the name Stark was spoken she knew it was about Tony and the weapons exchange. Pepper decided to let him know she was still alive so she picked up the radio and responded, "Tony, don't give him anything, I'm fine."

After dropping the radio, she moved slowly and silently into the next room and before she could recognize the exit, an explosion knocked her down. Dust filled the air as she heard men shouting orders. One man kneeled down next to her. "Stay down Miss Potts."

Relieved that help had finally arrived Pepper did as she was told. Her eyes were closed tightly as the events unfolded around her. She could hear men screaming instructions and moving about around her.

Shortly the all clear was given and Captain Young lifted himself off of Pepper. "I'm Captain Young, United States Marine Corps." He carefully helped her to her feet. "Are you injured anywhere? Does anything hurt?"

Pepper slowly shook her head. "Where's Tony?"

"He's on his way." Rhodes entered the dust filled bunker and Pepper ran to him. He wrapped his arms around her. "It's all over now."

She remained silent as he led her outside where it was dark except for the lights coming from all of the vehicles. Rhodes carefully cut the restraints free from her hands and he inspected the harsh marks it left behind. He took some gauze wrap from the first aid kit and wrapped them up preventing any further infection. As he finished the roar of a sports cars engine filled the air and Pepper looked up and tried to find the source.

"Pepper!" Tony yelled out as he ran towards the bunker.

"Tony!" She called back and left Rhodes to his waiting arms. As he held her she finally broke down and started crying.

"Shhh, I've got you, it's over, it's all over." He lovingly ran his hands up and down her back soothing her worries away.

They stood in the middle of chaos just holding each other as Captain Young's men restrained and lined up the men responsible. The sound of a large rotor broke the peaceful banter as they all looked to the sky seeing two large helicopters clear the mountain and land. Tony held Pepper as he watched Director Fury exit the first helicopter and approach him.

"I see you couldn't wait for us." He commented.

Tony just eyed the man before him. "She'd be dead if I did."

Fury just grinned and signaled for his men to load up the captive survivors. "Need a lift home?" Tony shook his head and turned his attention back to Pepper. Fury approached Rhodes and the Captain. "Impressive work gentlemen." He then held out an envelope to Captain Young and returned to his helicopter.

Tony led Pepper to one of the waiting Humvees. "Happy can you…" He pointed to his car.

"I'll take it home." Happy stated and returned to the car.

Once inside Tony held Pepper as if she would disappear from his very grasp. She closed her eyes as he held her and wished she could be home. Rhodes slipped in the seat next to Pepper and looked at the reunited couple. The vehicle started back towards Malibu.

The Humvee stopped in front of Tony's mansion. Pepper had fallen asleep and Tony carefully extracted her from the back seat. Rhodes shook the Captain's hand before joining his friend. He held the door open as Tony carried Pepper inside. As promised, there was someone waiting for him. "Thanks for coming Diane."

The physician looked at Pepper as Tony carried her upstairs to their bedroom. "Oh my God, what happened to her?"

"She was kidnapped, and held for ransom." Tony said shortly as he placed Pepper down on the bed. "She's got obvious abrasions from the restraints, and some bruising, but I wanted you here to check her out just in case."

Diane placed a hand on Tony's shoulder to ease the worry he expressed. "Don't worry; I'll take excellent care of her."

Tony helped Diane remove most of Peppers clothing and the bruises that were becoming apparent scared him. Several covered her legs and upper arms, but the one that frightened him the most was on her neck. It was obvious she was choked out at one point. Rage was building up in him and Diane could see it.

"Tony, I can take it from here. I'll let you know when I'm done." She ushered him out of the room before closing the door and returning to her patient.

"Hey, how is she?" Rhodes asked as Tony entered the kitchen.

"She's got bruises everywhere." He deadpanned and ran his hands through his already disheveled hair. Tony took the offered glass of orange juice from his friend and downed it.

"Sir, there's a woman at the gate requesting permission to enter." Jarvis announced. "She says her name is Ross."

"Ross?" Tony questioned and looked to Rhodes before it suddenly hit him. "Lieutenant Commander Ross, let her in Jarvis."

Rhodes looked confused. "What's she doing here?"

Tony could only shrug. "Let's find out." They went to the front door and opened it as Ross was getting out of her car.

She walked up to them looking relieved. "Thank you for seeing me."

"What's this about?" Tony asked.

"And why aren't you on the carrier?" Rhodes asked himself.

Sherry held up her hand. "I'll explain, but I've got an audio file that's encrypted and I have a feeling it has something to do with you." She looked to Tony.

Tony narrowed his eyes briefly. "Come in." He led her to the open living room and they all sat down. "Why don't you start from the top?"

She sighed and nodded. "After you guys left the carrier, I was monitoring all communications going to the fighters when a strange signal was being transmitted. It was repeating in loops so I copied it. I didn't think it was a big deal until several hours later when we lost contact with you guys, my Captain came to me and said I was to report to the mainland immediately and he took the file I copied. Only I had already made a copy of it for myself." She nervously rubbed her hands together as she told her story.

Rhodes moved from where he was sitting and sat next to her. He took her hands and covered them with his. "It's alright now. You're safe here."

Sherry half smiled at him. "I landed at the base in Italy with nothing but the clothes on my back. I was handed an envelope that I was going to be arrested once I returned to the east coast." She sighed. "I knew it all had to do with that strange signal, so instead I went AWOL, booked a flight straight to L.A. and found you guys."

"You realize your military career is gone now?" Rhodes spoke up.

She nodded. "Yes, but if there's anything on this file that's worth any real evidence, then it's worth it."

"Do you have the file?" Tony asked and she handed him a thumb drive. "I'll get Jarvis working on this. Thank you." Sherry smiled back and Tony couldn't help but smile at the compassion his friend was showing. "Rhodey, why don't you show Sherry to a room where she can get cleaned up and rest." He winked at his friend before heading down to his workshop.

"Sure thing, come on." He took her hand and led her to his room. "Bathroom's through that door, and I've got some clothes in the dresser that should fit you for the time being."

"Thank you." She smiled at him before retreating into the bathroom. Rhodes smiled at the closed door before leaving her to have her privacy.

Tony sat at his desk and plugged the drive into his computer. "Jarvis, see what you can uncover."

The screens went through several pages of files before the AI spoke. "It's a looping encryption that's jumbled. It will take me several hours to get a readable file."

"That's fine, let me know when you have something." He stood from his desk and went up the stairs several steps at a time. Tony was headed to his room when Rhodes reappeared. "You know, I thought we were on the same page when I…"

"Stop right there." Rhodes held up his hand at his friend. "It's not like that okay."

Tony smiled. "Is it?" Without waiting for an answer he climbed the next set of stairs to his room. He cautiously opened the door to see Pepper sitting up on the bed talking to Diane. She looked over seeing him enter and her eyes lit up. Tony moved to stand in front of her as Pepper stood and he gently embraced her. She began to weep as his arms held her against his body. He silently comforted her and dismissed Diane with his eyes.

Once they were alone Pepper refused to let him go as Tony tried to walk towards the bed. She let him lower her to the bed but she still clung to him. Tony eased down on the bed next to her and adjusted his position so they would be comfortable. Pepper sighed against him. No words were spoken as they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

Jarvis dimmed the lights once they were both asleep. As he did every night, Jarvis turned off the lights in rooms that were empty and locked up the house for the night. After the past events that took place, he ensured all perimeter sensors were set and remained alert throughout the night.

Pepper woke gasping for breath as her abduction replayed in her dreams. She looked around the dimly lit room and saw Tony lying on the bed next to her. Her eyes closed as questions began to arise and she knew he had the answers. She gently shook him and he woke blinking rapidly as he focused on her. "Are you alright?" He sat up and held her hands in his.

She nodded. "Yeah, but…"

Tony noticed she still had dirt in her hair. "How about a hot relaxing shower?" Pepper couldn't help but smile at his suggestion and he led her into the bathroom.

He stripped his clothes and noticed that Pepper was standing staring at the running water. The larger spacious shower mesmerized her as the three shower heads sprayed copious amounts of hot water. Tony stood behind her and softly ran his hands down her shoulders to unclasp her bra. He gently removed the garment being mindful of her bruises. Next he moved down and hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her panties and slid them down her legs leaving them at her feet as he stood up.

Pepper followed his lead into the water and the instant she was enveloped by the warmth she looked into his eyes. "My parents…"

Tony blinked several times as the water clung to his lashes making his face look even more apologetic and he could only shake his head. Her face fell as she choked back a sob but the tears fell freely. He pulled her into his arms as she cried. Hoping the water would soothe her Tony swayed her gently as if he was rocking an upset infant. Pepper let the combination of his hands and the hot water soothe her and after several minutes of crying she pushed away and looked at him. He read her silent question and responded. "They didn't suffer. And I'm sure that they would lay down their lives again to keep you safe."

The tears returned and Tony pulled her close. After a few moments, he took her shampoo from the tray and applied it to her hair. His fingers messaged her scalp as the soap lathered in her hair. When he tilted her head back to rinse the soap, Tony took a better look at the bruises around her neck. He felt guilty for what happened and he dipped down to gently try and kiss them away. Pepper ran her hands through her hair before tilting her head giving him better access. Tony lovingly tried to kiss away all the bruises on her neck before straightening and looking into her eyes.

He saw a combination of sorrow and lust. Not knowing what she needed he moved to kiss her lips gently as Pepper's hands cupped his face. She ran her thumbs over his goatee before moving to kiss him herself. Her hands moved to his neck pulling him closer and Tony responded by deepening the kiss and wrapping his hands around her. As they kissed he tested the waters and his right hand slipped down her back and over the rise of her ass before picking her left leg up and hooking it over his hip and holding it there.

Pepper broke the kiss and looked into his eyes once again. "I need you."

Tony understood what she meant and kissed her again. He moved her until she was pressed against the cool stone wall of the shower. His left hand moved down and picked up her right leg. Pepper kissed him passionately as Tony gently brought them together. Her hands clung to his shoulders as he made love to her. She felt his desire and affection for her as he moved. Tears stung her eyes once again, and afraid he'd gone too far, Tony stopped.

She shook her head and kissed him. "I need this, keep going."

He moved away from the wall and lowered her to the shower floor. Water poured over them and he moved within her. Pepper's hands gripped his back encouraging him. Their mouths were constantly in contact with each other and as Tony brought them to the edge, they both buried their faces in the other's neck. Tony managed to keep his passionate cry muffled as Pepper moaned into his neck and even managed a gentle bite.

They remained together for a few moments before Tony withdrew and stood helping her to her feet. He looked into her face to ensure she was indeed okay and when she smiled at him, he knew for the moment she was fine.

Once dry, Tony quickly dressed in a t-shirt and jeans with sneakers, while Pepper remained in the closet looking over her things. "Do they know?"

"Does who know?" He asked not sure of her question.

"The press."

"Oh, them, umm, yes and no. I wasn't going to release an official statement until I knew you were safe, but the word has gotten out." He walked into the large closet and stood behind her as she looked over her clothing selection. "We can wait if…"

"No." Pepper turned to look at him. "I'd rather they hear the truth than from any speculations they can find." He nodded and moved to softly kiss her in silent agreement. She sighed and tried to smile back, but she wasn't hiding her sorrow for her parents very well. "I just need to stay busy. I'll call Katie."

Tony rubbed her shoulders and smiled before leaving her and retreating down to the kitchen. He walked in on laughter and he noticed Rhodes and Ross sitting at the breakfast bar deep in conversation. Being Tony, he couldn't resist and leaned over the counter in front of the two as if he was requesting he be in on their discussion.

Rhodes cleared his throat. "Good morning Tony."

"Morning, sleep well?" Tony asked his friend and winked.

All he could do was shake his head and was about to respond when Ross reached over and took his hand surprising him. "You know, with everything that's happened I did sleep well thanks to James here." Tony's eyes widened at her statement and could only stare at his friend. She smiled brightly at Rhodes before turning her attention towards Tony. "You have a wonderful home."

"Uhh, thanks. Rhodey, I've got something I want to show you in the shop. Are you hungry?" Tony pointed at Sherry, "because Katie is coming over and I can have her pick up some breakfast. Yeah, let's do that. Jarvis, have Katie pick up some pastries or doughnuts or whatever."

"Right away, sir." Ross looked around for the strange voice.

Tony escorted Rhodes down to the workshop and they stood in the small kitchen area away from the glass doors. He shook his head and faced his friend. "You had sex in my house."

"Tony…"

"No, this is good, I mean I'm glad for you and all, but you don't even know the woman."

Rhodes smiled and decided to play along with the innuendo Sherry started. "Look who's talking about having sex with unknown women."

Tony just stared at his friend. "We're not talking about me here, and I'm a one woman man now."

Rhodes smiled. "Look, we talked last night and just, I don't know, it's like there was this connection."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Are you bullshitting me?" Rhodes shrugged his shoulders at his friend. "She's believable, you…not so much."

"You don't believe that I…"

"Let's stop this right now. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but since you're having so much fun playing this charade I'm going out on a limb and saying she slept in your bed, and you found a couch." Tony observed his friend's response before grinning widely. "Eh? Am I right?"

Rhodes shook his head. "Come on, this game isn't fun anymore."

Tony smiled brightly and followed Rhodes up the flight of stairs back to the kitchen. Rhodes winked at Ross and she smiled back at the pair. Tony shook his finger at her and smiled. "You were a lot more believable than he was."

She laughed at Tony's remark. "You seemed like the kind of guy that enjoys a little fun every now then."

"True." He responded before hearing footsteps approach them. Tony turned and smiled as Pepper joined them. "Hey, I don't know if you're hungry, but I added breakfast delivery to Katie's morning chores." Pepper shook her head in disbelief but inwardly admitted to herself that she wasn't surprised.

Katie showed up ten minutes later with an array of pastries and bagels. They all ate together and then Pepper and Katie went to the living room to arrange the paperwork she brought. Jarvis cautiously requested Tony was needed in the shop and as the AI made his announcement Tony didn't hesitate to rush down the stairs.

"Sir, it took much longer than anticipated due to the encryption and encoding."

"What kind of encoding?" Tony watched as Rhodes entered his numeric code unlocking the door.

"I've only encountered this kind of encryption with military information." Jarvis explained.

Rhodes stood next to Tony as they waited for Jarvis to reveal the information he uncovered. "You're thinking Stern?"

"Who else could it be?" Tony replied. "Jarvis, the message."

"Yes Sir." Jarvis began the playback. _'We have reason to believe that both Iron Man suits are going to be used to take out the missile sites. Use any means necessary to destroy them, and I'll take care of the next shipment. It will be on its way shortly, once Miss Potts approves the shipment.'_ "The message then repeats. A voice scramble was used so there's no way to find out who recorded the message. " The computer explained.

"Is there any way to trace the origin of the signal?" Rhodes asked while looking over the display.

"No, I'm afraid without monitoring the original signal the message was coded in there's no way of tracing it." Jarvis explained.

Tony exhaled loudly and his hands raked through his hair. "So, we have about ten pieces to a 1000 piece puzzle."

Rhodes thought for a moment. "The destination for the weapons that Pepper didn't approve, where is that in conjunction with where Tony and I were picked up?"

Jarvis flashed the screen and the holographic globe turned towards the Middle East. He highlighted the two locations. "The last location of the suits beacon is yellow; the destination requested for the shipment is in red. The distance between them is approximately 150 miles."

Tony whistled. "That's nothing."

"We need to try and get the guys to talk that took Pepper." Rhodes stated the obvious. He patted his friend's back. "I'm going up stairs."

Once alone Tony had a thought that had been wearing him down since his shower with Pepper. "Jarvis, can you access the coroner records on Pepper's parents?"

"Are you sure you want to?"

"I told her they didn't suffer, just please…"

"Very well." The shop went silent for a moment before one screen before him changed. "The preliminary report states that both Ken and Gloria had single gunshot wounds to the back of the skull. It appears they were dead before the house burned."

Tony sat back somewhat relieved knowing he didn't lie to Pepper. "Jarvis, if you could make the arrangements to get their bodies released. I'll have to find out from Pepper what she would like to do." There was no verbal reply but he knew that Jarvis was already at work. He remained sitting there lost in thought until he heard the door unlock. Tony half smiled at her as she walked up to him. "Hey."

"Hey." Pepper responded and as she approached him she could see the sadness in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

He sighed and held out his arms. "Come here." Pepper closed the gap and Tony pulled her to sit in his lap. She melted in his embrace and waited for him to speak. "Jarvis and I were discussing your parents."

She knew that it was a subject that needed to come out eventually but it was still hard to digest. Pepper didn't answer and wasn't sure if she wanted too, but it was ultimately her decision in the end.

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><p>Another chapter complete. Let me know what y'all think.<p>

TDCSI


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry this happened, but it's in my nature to kill my characters. Just ask my pal Jersey, she hates me for it, even holds a grudge because I killed some kid I made up in one of my CSI stories. What was his name again…?

Thanks for reading and for the reviews, I do enjoy them.

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

Tony stood next to Pepper in a black suit wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. She chose to remain behind as the small crowd of Stark Industries employees and few friends had dispersed. She was grateful for Tony's help as once she decided that she wanted her parents laid to rest somewhere nice and close to their home. He didn't lay out multiple pamphlets of suggestions, or pester her with ideas, it was just him and Jarvis that organized everything, and for that she was grateful.

The cemetery was large and beautifully maintained. As she said her final silent goodbyes, Pepper turned to Tony and he guided her back to the waiting car with his hand on the small of her back. Happy stood next to the black Rolls Royce and opened the door for them. As he drove towards the exits, the press stood aside taking pictures of them as they left.

It was the very next day after the fire that word was leaked on Pepper's abduction and that her parents perished. Of course they were missing the details behind the abduction, but they were just taking the fact that she was kidnapped and running wild with it. Pepper had managed to completely ignore most of it and now she just wanted people to stop asking her questions so she could go on with her life.

That night she fell asleep alone as Tony worked in his shop. Rhodes escorted Ross back to Washington to testify on her behalf. They all knew she would be dishonorably discharged, but jail time was another question. Happy remained in the house at Tony's request to ensure that Pepper always had someone with her.

Tony wanted to do something about all of the events that occurred knowing how they tied together, but at the moment he just sat at his desk as the various screens all displayed something different occurring in the world news. He had watched Pepper cry for the past few days as she mourned her parent's death. He even felt guilt and regret for the last encounter he had with Ken and Gloria. Her mother approved of him, but her father was still on the defensive about Pepper's best interests and the two of them exchanged blows. Tony only hoped that those last hours he spent with Pepper were happy.

He spun around in his chair and looked at the damaged Mark VI as it hung next to the battle scared War Machine. It was then Tony decided no more errands for SHIELD for a while at least. He needed to focus all of his attention to Pepper and getting Senator Stern crucified for what he had done.

Tony's face hardened. "Jarvis go through the approved shipments of weapons in the past two months and give me the locations."

It only took the AI a few minutes to sort through the data. "What precisely are you looking for sir?"

"There's got to be a connection between Stern and a certain area. Look for any common locations for shipments that include rifles, ammunition and long range missiles." Tony's eyes focused on the Los Angeles evening news, and of course other than the usual crime, they displayed a video clip from the funeral. Mostly of he and Pepper walking away from the gravesite and getting into the car. The images were disturbing to him. Any other time the news flashing pictures of him didn't faze him, but in their one moment of weakness they were there just so get a picture not caring about the circumstances.

"Sir I have several shipments fitting your criteria being delivered in Sargodha, Pakistan. Multiple shipments of rifles and several long range missiles, one shipment contained the K-9 missile."

"How many since they became available have we sold?"

A moment later Jarvis responded. "438 missiles and 67 platforms."

"Jesus…" Tony ran his hands through his hair. "I didn't realize they were such hot sellers."

"Our records indicate that only the United States military have purchased these specific weapons."

"So…" Tony stood and began walking around his desk as he thought out loud. "We flew from north of Egypt and crossed the sea towards Jordan, but the first missile lock was from…" He sat down in his chair and keyed up a global map of the area. "Those shipments going to Pakistan, can we track them after they arrive?"

"The manifest states they arrived at the airfield, but I don't have the access to the bases' artillery inventory."

Tony began to put the pieces together. "Stane was dealing under the table, he approved all the shipments back then, go back two years and find the shipments to that specific base."

"Doing a little fishing are we?"

"More than fishing." He pinpointed the location of the caves where he was held by the Ten Rings.

"Sir, the records from Stark Industries shows that in the six months prior to your capture, Mr. Stane approved thirty shipments of vast equipment and artillery that were shipped to the same base."

Tony's mouth fell open. "He was obviously being paid from Stern and not the Ten Rings." He paused and tried to think. The more evidence he uncovered or connections unfolded, the more confused Tony became. "Okay, let's think of this logically. Stern's on the arms committee, his pay increases as war and fighting increase. In order to increase conflict, he gets Obadiah in his pocket to arm the insurgents. You following me here Jarvis?"

"Absolutely Sir."

"Good, so somewhere down the road Stane sees me as an obstacle of making him more money and he pays the Ten Rings to kill me. It doesn't work, and backfires in his face. Stern can't get ahold of my suits so now he's trying to take me out of the picture only I've caught onto their plan." Tony clapped his hands together and leaned back in his chair. "Rhodey's going to love this."

"Speaking of Colonel Rhodes, his flight landed an hour ago. The court martial hearing in at 10AM eastern time." Jarvis announced.

"Keep me posted on that. I think I'll go to the office tomorrow and see what else may be hiding there that we can't uncover here." Tony stood and headed up to his bedroom.

He kept quiet as he stripped down and changed into pajama pants and a t-shirt that kept the glow of his reactor down. Slowly he climbed into bed and just when he thought Pepper was asleep, she rolled over and draped an arm over him. He kissed her exposed shoulder as she snuggled against him. Tony knew that she would be fine once things got settled.

The next morning Pepper woke and felt for Tony, but as always he was gone. He was late to bed, and early up, but as she stood and walked into the bathroom she froze. "Wow."

"What?" Tony was trimming his goatee and now looking at her through the mirror.

Pepper shrugged. "Gotta hot date?"

He couldn't help but smile. "I was going to go into the office with you today."

She shrugged and climbed into the shower. Tony stopped what he was doing and watched her shower. He remained unmoved until she was finished and had wrapped a towel around her drying body. "If I ever need you to pay attention to me, I guess I should just get naked."

"Huh?" He smiled at her and winked.

They finished getting dressed and Happy was already waiting by the car as they came out of the mansion. "Katie called and said she's ready and waiting with your morning agenda Miss Potts." The driver told her as they climbed into the car.

Reporters flocked to the couple and Happy and several other security guards pushed through them so Tony and Pepper could enter the building. Katie was waiting for them and immediately went to Pepper and began reciting the agenda for the day. Tony stood next to Pepper as the elevator took them up to their office and he couldn't believe that she was remembering anything Katie had said. He was lost after she mentioned the first meeting.

Immediately Tony went to his computer and tugged his tie loose. He turned on the system and pulled a tablet that rivaled the size of a legal pad and plugged it into his computer. Pepper sat down with Katie going over papers while Happy took a seat in the armchair near the door. As Katie talked, Pepper began eyeing Tony suspiciously.

Once everything was booted up he turned on the tablet. "Jarvis you there?"

"Indeed I am Sir."

Tony's fingers flew over the keyboard as he and Jarvis began digging into past files that were stilled locked away on the system. Pepper could tell by the intensity in his glare at the screen that he was on a mission and there was no way she was going to get him to the first meeting. She and Katie finished some things and stood to walk out. Tony stopped and watched them walk out the door. His eyes briefly connected with Happy's. The unspoken word was loud and clear and as the girls walked out Happy stood and was right behind them. With a sigh Tony went back to his investigating.

It was nearly lunch before Pepper, Katie, and Happy returned to the office. Happy was carrying several bags of food, and Tony looked up at the trio as they entered. He had removed his suit jacket and tie as he and Jarvis went through file after file. Pepper was setting out the food on the large table that sat in a back corner of the office. Pepper shook her head as they could hear his fingers consistently tap over the keyboard. Sometimes it was freaky as to how intelligent Tony Stark was.

He didn't pay any attention as they were preparing lunch, only to the screen before him. Pepper started walking towards him when Jarvis' voice came through the computer. "There's an encrypted email."

"Open it." Tony instructed. As Jarvis began cracking the email Tony hit gold. "Got it! Obadiah's hidden files, bastard really had them buried."

"Be careful for hidden worms." Jarvis reminded him.

Tony's eyes remained locked on the screen as his fingers worked at breaking Stane's files. Pepper stood beside him as he worked furiously. She knew better than to interrupt. With a final push to the enter button, the files unlocked. Tony clapped his hands loudly and pushed the chair back from the desk with his hands in the air. "Upload the files Jarvis."

"Immediately."

Pepper grinned at him. "Are you hungry? We brought lunch."

"It's lunchtime already?" He checked his watch. "Huh, I'll be dammed." Tony stood and gave her a quick kiss before walking past her to see what food there was offered.

After lunch Tony went back to his computer and pepper knew she had thirty minutes before the next meeting. She dismissed Katie and Happy for the moment and moved to stand behind him. Her hands rested on his shoulders for a moment before she gently started kneading the tight muscles beneath his shirt. Tony sighed and leaned back letting his fingers fall away from the keyboard.

Pepper smiled as he closed his eyes and relaxed in her hands. "That feels amazing."

"Why don't you take a break from staring at this computer screen?"

"And do what, go to boring meetings? That's why I have you." Tony tilted his head back looking up from his prone position. "I like this view."

Pepper laughed and released her grip. "Well, there's a R&D meeting in thirty minutes. I thought you'd want to be there."

He shrugged. "It sounds a bit boring."

"Well, there's a presentation from your new appointed researcher." She mentioned and Tony sat trying to remember the man's name. "Ryan…"

"That's it."

"I think you should be there to support him since you did appoint him." She suggested and when he sighed beneath her she moved her hands. "Tony, I doubt it will be the normal boring stuff you're used to."

After tying his tie and helping him into his jacket, Pepper walked next to Tony to the conference room. They were the last ones to arrive, and once seated Ryan introduced himself and his position in the company since only Tony and Pepper had ever seen the man before.

He dimmed the lights allowing his audience to see the screen as he started his digital presentation. As his talk involved advanced weaponry on the Humvees the military traditionally used, Tony went from leaning back in his chair uninterested, to sitting up leaning over the table and asking Pepper for a piece of paper and pen. As Ryan talked, Tony took notes of the ideas and wrote his own ideas next to each one.

Pepper was impressed how enthralled Tony was in Ryan's ideas. When the lights brightened, the other seven people listening to the ideas pitched began talking amongst themselves, trying not to appear very interested.

Ryan stood in front of the room still nervous in his first important meeting showing his ideas. "Um, I have a few questions." Tony spoke up and the rest of the suits all looked at him shocked that he had even paid attention. "The 50 cal on the roof, currently doesn't have any sights, do you think it would be possible to add a laser sighting mechanism that would allow the user to fire without having to look through a scope?"

With a nod Ryan answered his boss' question. "Absolutely Mr. Stark, it's possible."

"Or even make the gun laser targeted and operated without having someone to physically fire it." Tony suggested.

All eyes were on Ryan and he stood unmoved but obviously caught off guard by the comment. "In that case, we could remove the handles and trigger required to fire the weapon, possibly add short range grenade launcher."

Tony smiled. "I like where your head is at." The rest of the group including Pepper were stunned at Tony's sudden involvement. Tony stood and moved around to stand next to Ryan and made several key strokes on the computer. "You're right, it would work. Let's make it work." He shook Ryan's hand and banter started from the rest of the room as they suddenly approved of the idea.

Once the room was clear, Pepper stood from her seat. "I think I'm as shocked as they are."

Ryan was packing up his computer as Tony shrugged. "The guy has a good idea, and those clowns were going to blow him off because they have no idea who he is." She left them with a smile. "Once you get the plans finalized I'll go over them with you and we'll see what we can do." Tony shook Ryan's hand and headed for the door.

"Mr. Stark." Ryan waited for Tony to turn around. "I want to thank you for this opportunity."

"No problem."

"Mr. Stark." Ryan called again as Tony turned away from him. He walked over to stand before his boss. "Um, I knew you had a racecar, and was wondering if you'd be interesting in sponsoring a superbike." Tony narrowed his eyes but appeared intrigued. "My brother races and he lost his sponsorship…"

"And you want to know if I'd be willing to pay his bills?"

"No, it's not like that."

"Look, I'm sure your brother's a nice guy and good at racing, but…"

"He's broken three track lap records with a stock bike anyone can buy at a dealership." Ryan blurted out. "Just think what he can do with a bike that is built for racing?"

Tony checked his watch. "Okay, I'll humor you. Pepper has some crazy crap this afternoon I want nothing to do with. If your brother really wants a shot I can take a look today."

Ryan hesitated. "He rides at Mazda raceway." Tony looked at him not seeing the issue. "The track is in Salinas."

"Okay, call your brother, tell him to get ready to knock my socks off and meet me out front in an hour." Tony hit Ryan on the shoulder and left with a grin. Ryan was quickly on the phone.

Tony called to ready his plane as he entered his office. Pepper eyed him as he hung up. "I take it you are not coming with me to the budget meeting."

"You know I've never been that good at math." Tony said sarcastically.

Pepper crossed her arms and watched him as he pulled his tie free and walked into the spacious bathroom. She watched as he stripped his jacket and shirt. "Where are you going?" Tony turned to her and started unbuckling his belt. "Are you trying to seduce me?"

"Me, no. This would be me seducing you." He put his hands on her hips and turned her so her backside was against the vanity. Tony softly kissed her, his tongue grazing her lips seeking entrance.

Pepper managed to fend off his charm and pushed him back. "I don't know what you're up to, no good I'm sure, but as long as it's not dangerous…"

"I'll stay out of trouble I promise." He kissed her quickly and returned to undressing. "Make sure you don't go anywhere without Happy."

"Tony…"

He pulled on a pair of jeans and looked at her. "I'm serious Pepper, please."

"Well what about you?" She crossed her arms as he fastened the front of his jeans.

"I'll keep him out of trouble."

Tony looked behind Pepper as she jumped at the sudden intrusion. "Jesus, I'm like half naked you know."

"You've got pants on." Natasha moved to stand next to Pepper. "Director Fury sent me."

"Not surprised, but I don't need a baby sitter."

"You're investigating the connection between Stern and Stane." Tony narrowed his eyes at the woman. "Director Fury thinks you'll take matters in your own hands."

Tony looked less than thrilled as he pulled on a light colored T-shirt and his leather jacket. "Fine." He approached Pepper. "I'll be back in a few hours." He kissed her lips and looked at Natasha. "You're not getting one." He quickly walked out. Pepper shook her head as Natasha was right on Tony's heels.

Happy was sitting outside the office when Tony and Natasha appeared. He stood quickly. "Hi."

Tony stopped. "What is it with you two?" he waited for an answer but one never came. "Stay with Pepper, I'll be back this evening."

"Yes, sir." Happy said smiling at Natasha.

With a roll of his eyes Tony walked away. He walked past the front desk and Ryan was standing outside waiting on him. "Let's roll." Tony walked past him leaving him to catch up. A car was waiting and they all climbed in.

The ride to the Stark Industries airstrip was short and the jet was waiting. Tony was the first up the stairs and within minutes the plane was taking off.

Tony sat with Natasha across from him. He eyed her as if making odd faces. She didn't want to encourage him by responding to his crazy looks, and was able to stay quiet. "Thanks for not wearing your attack outfit." She narrowed her eyes but remained silent. Tony turned to Ryan and smiled encouraging the man who was obviously nervous. "Fly much?" Ryan shook his head. "Hmm, how about some music if you two aren't going to talk." The cabin filled with music he was sure would annoy Natasha but she was unmoved until the plane landed.

A car was waiting and took them the 45 minutes to the famous race track. Tony got out of the car and looked around at all of the other racers that were there with big rigs, multiple bikes, and a fully stocked crew. He was taking in the smell of burning high octane fuel as the bikes sped around the track.

"Mr. Stark." Tony looked and a man ran up to him that looked like a badly kept Ryan. "I'm Randy Sanders, please to meet you and I can't thank you enough for coming."

"Uh, yeah, no problem." Tony looked the man up and down. "Is that what you race in?"

Randy shrugged his shoulders. "I lost everything I had with the sponsorship, so yeah. But it doesn't slow me down."

"Well, show me whatcha got." Tony stated and Randy ran back to his bike.

Ryan took them so to a place where they could see the entire track. Randy's best friend, and only crew member stood next to Ryan. He held a stop watch and watched as Randy was allowed on the track.

Tony stood and watched as multiple riders passed Randy before he took off. As the bike accelerated the front end rose off the ground, and as he started in the first corner, gaining ground on the two riders ahead of him. Half way through the lap, Randy was directly behind them and as they went through a corner, he took it wide and fast being able to gain speed quicker and over took them in the next corner. Tony's eyes widened as he watched the young man skillfully maneuver his bike through a slower crowd of riders and speed across the line in front of him.

Both Ryan and Randy's friend jumped surprising Tony and Natasha. "He just clocked the fastest lap time for the day!" Both men ran from the bleachers to greet Randy as he rode towards the track exit.

Tony shrugged. "Pepper won't mind…right?" The red head only looked at him. He rolled his eyes and went down to join the three celebrating men. "Impressive." Randy got off him bike and took off his helmet. "So, I think we should talk about this a little more. Saturday I'm planning a little get together at Stark Industries, you should come and we'll talk."

"Thank you sir." Randy shook Tony's hand and said goodbye to his brother.

As the car drove back to the airport Tony couldn't help but ask. "Twins?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah."

"Any other traits you two share other than looks?"

"Are you asking if my brother is gay?"

"Well…" Tony shrugged his shoulders and looked at Natasha.

Ryan grinned. "No. If you must know, he's got a little girl with his high school sweetheart. They broke up when she went to college and never told him she was pregnant, until she wanted child support. He's trying to work it out with her, but he's having a hard time proving that he can support them."

"Of course, because racing without a ride pays so well." Tony said sarcastically.

"Do you always have to be a jerk?"

"My God, she can talk." Tony said at Natasha's comment. "Give my secretary your brother's address and I'll get him an invite to the party for him and his girlfriend."

Ryan smiled. "You don't have to do that you know."

Tony shrugged. "Call it Pepper rubbing off on me."

It was nearly dark when Tony and Natasha entered his mansion. Tony abandoned Natasha and quickly disappeared down to his shop. Feeling somewhat comfortable with the house, she went to the kitchen where Happy was sitting eating a sandwich. "How was the trip?"

She rolled her eyes. "Looked at something else he's going to spend money on. It's advertising in a way so I say why not."

"Hungry?" He asked.

"No. I'll be leaving in a minute once my ride gets here."

"Leaving so soon?"

She smiled at him. "We need to continue to keep Mr. Stark and Miss Potts safe, and part of that is digging through computer files."

Tony was behind his desk in an instant and clapped several times waking up his computers. "Welcome home Sir."

"First thing I need you to do Jarvis, run a background check on a Randy Sanders. Then, send an email to Katie that I want to have an informal party at Stark Industries every employee is invited. My usual DJ, and whoever would be appropriate to cater, then give me the cliff notes version of what we uncovered today." He sat back in his chair as the screens changed.

"Randy Sanders, thirty years old born in Oakland, California, twin brother to Ryan Sanders. Graduated high school fifth in his class, started college at USC on a full ride football scholarship, dropped out after his freshman year. Daughter, Samantha Rose Brooks, five years old. Raced sport bikes successfully his first three years, until he was involved in an on track accident that broke his right leg, left arm, and several ribs. He hasn't raced since, and no criminal records exist." Jarvis reported.

"Ouch." Tony commented. "The guy's an athlete; they don't know how to stay down."

"Your email was delivered to Miss Williams, and she replied."

"Read it." Tony stood and went into the small kitchenette and filled a glass with water.

"Not a problem; would you like me to inform Miss Potts?" Jarvis read the email.

"Tell her no, I'll handle Pepper, she just handles the party." Tony drank the water and sat back down. "Okay, so what did Obadiah have hidden?" Jarvis was quiet and the screens remained blank. "Jarvis?" A sudden knock on the glass stole Tony's attention. "You!" He pointed.

"Open up." Nick Fury knocked again.

"Let him in." Fury entered quickly and moved around to stand in front of Tony's computers. "What on Earth now?"

"Tony, I'm only going to say this once. Let us put the pieces together between Stane, Stern, and anyone else connected. Worry about your business, your girlfriend, parties, whatever just let us do our job." He watched Tony squirm in his chair. "Look, Tony, I know this going to be new to you, but I'm telling you, once we get things in order, you'll be the first person to know."

"And then what happens?" Tony asked staring at the man before him almost challenging him.

Fury put his hands on the desk and leaned towards Tony. "Then… then Stern gets a visit from Iron Man."

Tony narrowed his eyes before inclining his head. "I'll hold you to that."

"Fair enough." Fury stood up straight and started to walk away. "Oh, and Natasha's going to be hanging around you, so you better get used to having a shadow."

Tony rolled his eyes as Fury left. "Thanks for the heads up Jarvis."

"I'm sorry sir; they were able to get the files from me while I was accessing Stark Industries from your office." The computer tried to apologize.

"Don't worry about it." Tony stood from his desk and walked out of the shop. The main floor of the house was empty and so Tony decided to retreat to his bedroom.

Upon entering the lights were dimmed in the bathroom and he could hear music playing. Slowly he entered and noticed the candles lit around the large tub. Familiar red hair was draped over the edge as he approached and put his hands on each side of her. "How was your trip?"

Tony leaned down and kissed the top of her head before moving to sit on the edge of the tub next to her. "Good. I'm exploring a new venue for advertising."

"You're doing what?"

"Well, it seems Ryan's brother is a racer…"

"No more race cars Tony." She demanded.

"It's not cars, super bikes."

"Motorcycles!"

"Let me finish." He held up his hand in defense and waited for her to settle back down. "He used to race before a bad accident. He lost his ride and is trying to get back in but he is finding it hard. These guys race all over the world, and he's good. I watched him with the street version of a racing bike pull the fastest lap time of the day. He's got a girlfriend and daughter he's trying to support." She turned her head and looked at him. "I knew I would get you with that."

Pepper splashed him with water. "Oh, shut up."

Tony laughed. "Anyways, I told him to come to the party and we'd work out more details there."

"What party Tony?"

"Don't be mad, just hear me out. While observing the employees yesterday, they all looked like they needed a chance to let loose, so I'm going to throw an employee's only party at the office, DJ and food provided by me." He looked at her hoping not to become the victim of a sudden drowning.

"I think that's a wonderful idea. You thought that up by yourself?" He nodded. "I'm impressed."

Tony smiled proudly. "I thought you would be." He leaned down and kissed her, groaning slightly as they parted. "Finish your bath. I'll be waiting in bed."

Pepper finished her bath and dressed in simple silk nightgown. She exited the bathroom and stopped before climbing into the bed. A smile crossed her face as she looked at the man she loved, sleeping. Exhaustion from the day had caught up with him and as he waited for her, he drifted off.

"Jarvis, turn off the lights." She whispered and all of the lights in the rooms darkened. Pepper was drawn to him by the glow in his chest. The reactor that kept him alive, that was a constant reminder to them both at how close he came to being no more.

Pepper climbed into the bed; slipping under the covers as she eased up next to him. Tony sighed in his sleep as she draped her arm over his stomach and nestled into his side. She knew that no matter what, his light only belonged to her.

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><p>Awww, well I've got some more crazy crap in my head so hang on. Oh, and I remember now, Jason, the poor kid. I givith, and I takith away.<p>

TDCSI


	10. Chapter 10

Well here is yet another update; I thank everyone for the reviews and continued support of this story. It's going to get a little bumpy at the end here so be warned.

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><p>Chapter 10<p>

Tony was up and dressed waiting for Pepper by the car. Happy was leaning on the front fender of the Rolls next to Tony. They stood next to each other in silence until Tony couldn't take it any longer. "So, is it you and Katie, or you and Natasha, 'cause I'm a little confused here?"

Happy stood unfazed by the question. "I'm just getting some more training from Natasha."

"Oh…well um, and Katie?" Tony observed his friend and watched him stiffen slightly. "That answers that question." The door opened stealing his attention. "Hey, about time girls."

Tony sat with Pepper in the back seat while Natasha joined Happy in the front as he drove. It was mid-morning, but Tony demanded he assist in setting up for the party that evening. Katie was already at Stark Industries getting things organized.

When they arrived Pepper went to assist her assistant and Tony retreated to his office. Happy followed his boss while Natasha stayed with Pepper. "We need to do a little bit of research Happy." He sat down heavily in the chair behind his desk.

Happy pulled a chair around to sit next to Tony. "Research on what?"

"Bikes that go fast." His fingers began flying over the keyboard.

Pepper and Katie had everything set up and as DJ AM was finishing his sound checks they went to change for the evening. Happy didn't require a complete change of clothes as he stood in the office as Tony retreated to his bathroom to change into a pair of simple black slacks, and a dark tank top under a button down shirt that was similar in color as the red of his suit. After ensuring the reactor in his chest wasn't visible he stepped out smiling at Pepper as she waited.

"Well, you look nice." He smiled at her comment. "Shall we."

They went down to greet the employees that were arriving. Tony had the large demonstrations building cleared and set up with an array of tables and chairs with a large clearing in the middle to allow dancing. As people were entering and getting food and drinks, Tony smiled to Pepper. "All these people work here?"

Pepper shook her head. "Yes, and this isn't all of them."

Ryan walked in with his brother. "Mr. Stark."

"Ryan." He shook the man's hand as did Pepper. "Pepper, this is Randy, Ryan's brother and possibly my new advertising investment."

"Randy nice to meet you." She shook his hand being sure her facial expression didn't mirror her thoughts on the idea.

"And who is this beauty following you?" Tony picked up the woman's hand and lightly kissed her knuckles.

"Mr. Stark, this is my girlfriend, Lana Brooks." Ryan introduced her.

"Pleasure to meet you." She greeted and Tony noted both of them were obviously nervous.

"Well, there's plenty of food and drinks. Randy, we'll meet in a few hours." Tony stated and watched them walk into the crowd that has gathered. After greeting a few more guests, Tony walked over towards the DJ as he was playing some music mix from the late nineties. "Microphone please maestro." The music died off and the people talking and mingling quieted and turned towards their employer. "Welcome. I'm actually surprised so many showed up, but hey, who doesn't like free food and booze?" The crowd laughed. "Any way, all I can say is have a good time, Goldstein takes requests if you want to hear anything particular otherwise he'll just drop a good beat to dance to, so eat, drink, and be merry." Tony stepped away as the group applauded him and he went to the bar to get himself a drink with Happy on his tail.

Pepper found herself visiting with several people from marketing that she had worked with often and had become friends with. It was nice to be able to mingle and not discuss work. Tony walked around shaking hands and sipping his scotch. He only stopped briefly to talk to several engineers that were in attendance, and was listening to some crazed idea about rockets when he found who he was looking for.

Tony sat down heavily in a chair next to Randy. "So, I'm ready whenever you are." Randy looked at the man standing behind Tony. By the way he was dressed may have suggested he just walked off the set of 'Reservoir Dogs, and he didn't know if he was supposed to be intimidated by the man. "Don't mind him; he's like a shadow that doesn't go away even in the dark." Randy nodded and even his girlfriend had stopped what she was doing to pay attention to the conversation. "Okay, here's the deal, I'm going to let you pick a bike that suits you; a demonstration will be arranged for middle of next week. In the meantime, you need a crew of more than one, so if you know or have anybody in particular…"

"Actually yes." Randy replied quickly and Tony's eyes went up. "There are a few guys that were on my last crew that knew their stuff and we all really clicked."

"Clicked, I like clicked. Call them and tell them what we're cookin'. Next, I like to keep my investments close. I'll get an area so you and the crew can set up a garage here at Stark Industries, and you can haul to a nearby track. There's a full gym on site here, use it to your advantage." Tony looked at the pair and both seemed stunned. "Oh, and Lana what is it that you do back in wherever it is you're from?"

The young woman was obviously shocked at the question. "Oh, umm, I just actually finished my degree in accounting."

"Brilliant…" Tony turned and looked for Pepper. "Happy, can you go locate a certain red head for me?" As he moved away Tony continued. "I can set you up in a two bedroom apartment not far from here, and once you get a crew lined out, let me know and I'll see about getting accommodations for them."

"What do you need now Tony?" Pepper questioned knowing he had something up his sleeve.

"Young Lana here is an aspiring number cruncher, do you suppose that there's a place for her here at Stark Industries?" Tony gave a slight wink at her hoping she would catch on.

Pepper smiled at the young blonde. "I'm sure we can find something for her."

"Great, tell Katie, and make it happen. So…am I missing anything?" Tony eyed the couple who was still in amazement.

"Okay, well, if anything changes let me know, otherwise Monday morning I'll have movers at your disposal to get you guys relocated." Tony stood and Katie was now standing where Pepper was. "This is Pepper's assistant Katie, give her your address and she can help make any arrangements you need."

As people began to loosen up with the help of the alcohol, a large group gathered as the beginning of the 'Cupid Shuffle' came through the speakers. Tony was standing next to the bar when Pepper approached him. "Not going to dance?"

"I think I'll catch the next one." He was smiling as the large group of people began all moving in unison with the music. "These crazy people work for me?"

Pepper laughed. "It's not that hard to dance to this." And she started dancing in place, swaying her hips to the music.

"Look." Tony pointed and when she saw Happy dancing with Katie, Pepper couldn't hold in a laugh. "He looks pathetic."

The song played through and Pepper grabbed his hand. "You said next dance."

Tony rolled his eyes and downed the remainder of his scotch. Pepper pulled him out into the crowd as the lights began flashing with the main beat of the song. His hands found her hips as she began swaying with the beat. It didn't take much before Tony was in tune with her as she moved her hips in such a close proximity to him.

_You say you're searching for somebody that will take you out and do you right.  
>Well, come here baby and let daddy show you what it feels like.<br>You know all you gotta do is tell me what you're sipping on.  
>And I promise that I'm gonna keep it coming all night long.<em>

Looking in your eyes,  
>While you're on the other side,<br>(And I think that shorty I gotta thing for you)  
>You're doing it on purpose, wind it and work it.<br>I can tell by the way that you're looking at me, girl.

I wanna make love in this club.  
>In this club<br>In this club  
>In this club<p>

Tony felt as if they were alone. His eyes focused on her as they moved. His hands having a mind of their own moved down to grip her rear and his mouth fell to the side of her neck. Pepper's head fell back as they moved with the music. She knew it wouldn't be long before he'd want to leave.

Her assumptions weren't too far off and as the next song began, Pepper felt the tug on her arm and he whisked her away towards the back rooms of the building. Tony locked the door behind them as his lips attacked hers. His body pushing her back towards one of the drafting tables and he picked her up and sat her on the edge.

Pepper felt the urge surging within her and quickly unfastened his pants. Their lovemaking was quick and full of need to reach completion. Her head rested on his shoulder as they panted out of breath. "We haven't been very careful lately."

Tony's head slowly lifted his head and looked into her eyes. "Careful?" She pushed him back a step separating them. "Oh, that, yeah. Umm, we're supposed to still be…?" Pepper nodded. "Okay, well, you're going to have to keep me in line with this, especially when I've been drinking as much as I have, and you dancing all sexy on me…" He put his hands up in mock surrender. "What do you expect me to do?"

She shook her head as they straightened out their clothes to rejoin the party. "Tony, I have a hard time remembering myself. But from now on, we both need to be conscious about it." He gave her a half smile and they returned to the party.

Happy drove and talked softly with Natasha as he piloted the car towards Malibu. Tony was asleep sitting up with his mouth hanging open. Pepper was still awake, but since it was after midnight she was obviously exhausted. When they reached the mansion Pepper woke Tony, but it took Happy to help him to bed. Pepper removed his shoes and covered him up. Tony was asleep the instant his head hit the pillow. While Tony's light snoring echoed in the bedroom, Pepper had stripped down to her bra and panties and was looking at herself in the mirror. Questions began to flood her mind.

Her hand traveled over her flat stomach and her expression changed to worry. "Jarvis."

"Yes, Miss Potts."

Pepper hesitated but needed to know. "Could I be pregnant again?"

"According to your doctor you were not supposed to attempt to conceive until after you next menstrual cycle."

"Yeah well, try telling that to Tony." She smiled as she looked at him passed out on the bed. Jarvis didn't respond. "Can you tell me?"

"Indeed I can perform a scan."

Pepper pulled on a robe and made her way down to Tony's shop. It felt awkward but she let the robe slip from her body and held her arms out. She watched as several blue lights went over her torso before disappearing. Pepper pulled on the robe and waited.

"It appears there is no pregnancy present." Jarvis started and Pepper let out a sigh of relief. "There's no indication of ovulation which could be associated with the prior stress. With no ovulation, your cycle should start earlier than anticipated." Pepper slumped down in Tony's chair before breathing a sigh of relief. "Was this helpful?"

She smiled not quite expecting such an in depth reasoning of what her reproductive organs were doing. "Yes. Very much Jarvis, thank you." Pepper composed herself before returning to bed with an intoxicated Tony.

The week rolled through and with Tony excited about his new marketing scheme, it kept him out of Pepper's hair. She went about her meetings at Stark Industries while Tony met with the top sport bike manufacturers with Randy and Happy.

Each had a large trailer set up with displays and graphs hoping to entice the billionaire into using their bike to race. They looked over each one before deciding to test them out. Randy put on his helmet and leather jacket before climbing onto the waiting Yamaha.

Tony shook his head. "We need to get you to look more the part." Randy grinned before bringing the bike to life. He started off and stood the bike up on its back tire as he sped off down the empty runway. "Good God!"

All the bikes were tested and Tony began to get the urge to fly as well. He walked over to the large red cargo trailer and whispered to the men standing by the bike. With a nod he was taken inside. Happy noticed and before he could say anything to his boss, he pulled his cell phone.

Tony emerged with a helmet, gloves, and leather jacket on. Randy returned his run on the Suzuki and noticed Tony. "Have you ridden one of these before?" As Tony climbed onto the waiting Honda he shook his head. Randy rolled his eyes, but glanced at the man as the bike started and revved. Tony pointed at Randy then back at himself.

Randy smiled and rode off circling the trailers. Tony released the clutch and followed him getting a feel for the bike. As he began to get comfortable with it, he decided he needed one. Happy watched and stood by nervously keeping an eye out for Pepper's car. The two men lined up and began revving the engines at each other.

Pepper's heart was in her throat as Natasha drove her Audi to the runway. She saw the trailers, and two riders lined up as if preparing to drag race. The car had barely stopped when she jumped out and ran over to Tony. He noticed her out of the corner of his eye but kept looking at Randy and revving the engine. "Tony!" She knew he was purposefully ignoring her and she glanced down at the engine kill switch. Without hesitation she pushed it and the engine died instantly.

"Hey!" Tony turned and glared at her. "Just one down and back."

"No, you're going to kill yourself!"

"I am not. I just want…"

"It's always about what you want, you never think about what we, 'we' Tony, what we want, or need. You need to start thinking about that if you want this, us to continue on." She stepped back waiting for his reply.

Tony was slightly shocked but knew she was upset. He nodded at her before turning the switch on and restarting the bike. Pepper stormed away from him as his attention was returned to Randy. "Ready?"

Randy nodded and they took off. Tony let the gravitational pull of the bike lower him to hug the tank as he accelerated. He was well over 100mph and still had three gears to go. This was something he definitely needed. Randy took it easy not really wanting to beat his new sponsor but he didn't want to look weak either so he gave it all he had. They both made the corner to the taxiing side of the airstrip; Randy flew through it where Tony was more hesitant. He did all he could to catch up and when they made it back to the trailers they both stopped.

Randy smiled as he removed his helmet. "Not bad."

Tony was nearly out of breath as he took his off. "Wow! I need one of these. Can I keep this one?" The men just nodded. "Good. So which one did you decide on?"

Randy moved off the bike and approached Tony. "I'm kinda partial to the Hondas myself."

"Okay." Tony climbed off the bike and told the men representing Honda. "We'll need one more of these for him to ride on the streets, and two or so to race with."

"We can have his bike here by this evening, and the racers can be delivered the first of next week. Do you have a paint scheme in mind?" the man asked.

Tony shook his head. "That's still in the works."

Randy left in the car with Happy as they trailed behind a speeding Tony on his new bike.

Pepper was back at home before Tony and Happy. She didn't bother to eat as her appetite was nil since his decision to play verses her concern for his wellbeing. She slammed the door to the bedroom and promptly locked it. Her chest heaved with frustration and decided to soak in the large tub to ease her stress.

Happy sat in the car outside of the mansion. Entering without knowing where Tony was at the moment was almost a certain death warrant signed by Pepper Potts. So, he decided to wait it out. Midnight rolled around and Tony finally returned home. The revving engine woke Happy and he then felt comfortable enough to go inside and to bed.

Tony parked his new toy in the middle of the workshop and pulled off the helmet. "Whatcha think Jarvis?"

"It looks very fast sir."

"Oh, yeah. Real fast. Is Pepper in bed?" Tony climbed off the bike and unzipped the leather jacket before finding a place to store his stuff.

"Miss Potts is indeed in bed. And I'm to inform you that she's locked the door to the bedroom, with strict instructions to not let you in." Tony stopped and glanced up to the ceiling as if he could look straight through to where Pepper lay. "She was very upset when she returned home."

Tony shook his head. "Yeah, she's pissed about the bike. Not a huge deal to dress up in a metal suit and go flying around the world in, but getting a motorcycle really set her off." He said sarcastically as he waved his arms around.

"Both items are extremely dangerous." Jarvis made an attempt to take his creators side.

With a groan Tony sat at his desk and smiled at the bike. "We need a color scheme to go on a similar bike."

"Are you thinking blue and white as with the formula race car?" the AI offered an option.

Tony sat and considered the options. "I suppose a Stark Industries sponsored racer should have the company's colors, but I was thinking more along the lines of Iron Man." He smiled.

"Indeed a tough choice sir."

With a shrug and a yawn Tony replied. "Give me three good design options for the plastics, and I'll pick one in the morning to send to Honda to fabricate. I'm gonna go to bed."

Tony knew attempting to get into his own room was useless, so he pulled a blanket from one of the cabinets and curled up on the couch near his desk. Jarvis dimmed the lights in the shop as he had the computer screens busy with the designs. "Goodnight sir."

"Night Jarvis." Tony yawned again before falling asleep.

Pepper woke the next morning and found herself still mad at the situation Tony had put her in. She was dressed and off to Stark Industries before even seeing if he was home. At the moment she didn't care. Happy was more than willing to drive her which left Natasha at the house to babysit Tony.

She went down the stairs and peeked through the glass and noticed him sleeping soundly in what appeared to be an uncomfortable position on the couch. Natasha shook her head and went back upstairs to email her weekly report to Director Fury.

Tony woke around ten and stretched. He pulled the blanket off and walked to his desk in a haze. Blinking his eyes several times he looked at the blank screens in front of him. "So Jarvis, what did you come up with?"

"I my research of what you were talking about last night, I came up with three options that also include possible designs for the riders leathers that would match the motorcycle." The first design appeared. "This is similar to the color scheme of the race car you so skillfully destroyed earlier this year." Tony rolled his eyes as Jarvis continued. "Blue and red on white, with black writing. It's difficult to project as the plastic pieces on these machines have multiple holes to allow for air flow."

"Yeah, but it's like painting a mural then cutting out the holes later."

"So, there will be letters missing?" The AI asked.

Tony shrugged. "That's how they look."

"Very well." The adjustments were made rather quickly and Tony could only shrug.

"I'm not digging it, next." The screen changed to the next design.

"Here I have changed the color to incorporate that of Iron Man, with the company logo."

Tony eyed the colors carefully and noticed how the leathers the rider was to wear closely resembled the design of the suit. "I like the idea for the leather suit. Keep that idea handy." The screen changed once again and Tony's eyes lit up. "Project the image onto the large screen." He stood and walked around the desk to where the life size picture waited for inspection.

The bike appeared hot rod red with gold trim as his Iron Man suit, but subtle details gave it the look of riveted metal sheets together to form the body work. The company name was written on both sides and just the name 'Stark' stood boldly across the front where the headlights would be.

"I really like this look of riveted metal pieces on here Jarvis." Tony continued to walk around the picture. "I like it. Send this layout to Honda and we'll see what we get. Now, for the rider…"

"May I suggest using Alpinestars? During my research it was apparent the other riders wear that brand." Jarvis pointed out.

"Good to know." Tony went to make himself a cup of coffee in the small kitchen. "Make me copies of that as well. And get me a representative for Alpinestars on the phone."

Tony set up a fitting for himself and Randy, and he did more research on customizations that could be done to the bike sitting in the middle of his garage. He made several orders from the local stores and because he was Tony Stark, the items he wanted were going to be delivered to his front door. Knowing Pepper was upset about the motorcycle was enough to keep him hidden in shop keeping busy.

He proceeded to remove all of the plastics from the bike and the tail section. Tony had music blaring loudly as Dummy took the plastic pieces to be repainted. Jarvis announced that Randy had arrived and in a very short period of time the man stopped his bike short of Tony's.

"Damn, you don't wait to customize something do you?" Randy approached the stripped machine.

Tony grinned. "I need it to be more me. So, I've got parts coming and the people from Alpinestars should be here about…"

"They have just arrived at the gate sir." Jarvis informed him.

"Perfect." Tony went up the stairs and towards the front door with Randy close on his heels.

A large bus pulled up and two people quickly stepped out. "Mr. Stark, I'm Jim Graves, and this is Lisa Stanley, we represent Alpinestars on the AMA circuit."

Tony shook their hands. "This is Randy Sanders, my new investment."

"Wonderful. If you'd like to step inside and we can get Mr. Sanders measurements and the color ideas you have in mind." Jim stepped back and let them enter.

Tony and Randy were both measured for custom leather jackets and such. By the time they had finished, the parts Tony had ordered were being unloaded. They took the boxes down to the shop and began outfitting Tony's bike with the new exhaust, tail piece and lights.

It was early in the evening but Tony broke out the alcohol as they worked. They visited and got to know each other more in depth as the alcohol loosened them both up. Both being skilled at mechanics they managed to put Tony's bike back together while drunk. They flew through the first bottle of scotch and were almost done with the second as they finished the bike.

Randy sat down on the couch as Tony started the bike and revved the motor. The new exhaust gave it a deeper, louder sound and Tony smiled at the new sound. "I like it. Now I need to fix my helmet."

"What's wrong with it?" Randy's eyes began to glaze over as the alcohol soaked into his body.

Tony picked up the flat black helmet. "Black is so boring, and I need to…" He lost his train of thought as he pulled the helmet on over his head then went to take a drink. They both laughed as scotch spilled down over the front of Tony's shirt. As he laughed Tony stumbled back and lost his footing. He fell flat on his back laughing not realizing that if he hadn't been wearing the helmet he would have cracked his head on the concrete.

Randy slumped over on the couch and passed out. Tony rolled over onto his stomach. He crawled several feet before giving in to the alcohol. Jarvis scanned both men's vitals before dimming the lights in the shop.

The next morning Pepper woke up feeling more forgiving and went to the shop to talk to Tony. She entered her code and quietly walked in. First she noticed Randy still sleeping on the couch. Pepper knew already she wasn't going to like what she found as her eyes saw the empty bottle, and her nose inhaled the scent of scotch. As she advanced further into the shop, she noticed the motorcycle and the intricate details of the paint job and couldn't help but smile as Tony had created Iron Man on two wheels.

A groan caught her attention and she walked over to stand over Tony. Fully dressed wearing a motorcycle helmet while lying on the ground. "I should be surprised, but then again I'm really not."

He groaned again and managed to remove the helmet before rolling onto his back. His eyes squinted as he tried to focus on Pepper. "What time is it?"

"Morning."

"What day is it?"

Pepper scoffed. "I can't believe you. You knew I was upset about this…" She pointed at the bike. "So, you sit down here and get drunk off your ass instead of thinking about my feelings towards the whole situation."

Tony closed his eyes as the volume of her voice rang in his aching head. "What…?"

"You're impossible." She started walking away but as her frustration grew she walked back towards the man lying on the ground. "And let me make one thing clear here Tony, if you don't start thinking more about 'us', there isn't going to be an 'us' left." Pepper stormed out of the shop and Tony rolled over onto his side and groaned at his growing hangover.

* * *

><p>Oh snap, Tony's done it now, and pissed her off. Keep the reviews coming I love 'em.<p>

TDCSI

Lyrics: 'Love in this club', Usher.


	11. Chapter 11

Well here's another update for y'all. It's been crazy at work, not busy just drama and I don't do drama. Anywhos, here we go, and another thanks for the reviews I've been getting for this story.

* * *

><p>Chapter 11<p>

Tony remained on the floor until the room stopped spinning. It had been eons since he had a hangover this bad. His stomach clenched as if it needed to empty itself but Tony knew the last time he ate was over twelve hours ago. As he thought about food he grew hungrier and managed to sit up. Randy was still snoring on the couch as Tony struggled to his feet. He smiled at the motorcycle he customized and headed for the door.

Happy was sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen when he heard Tony stumble up the stairs. He ran over to his boss, and caught his arm before he fell face first into the tile. "Easy there, I gotcha."

Tony groaned and with Happy's help stood up. "Thanks Hap." He glanced around his home and blinked several times to clear his vision and focus. "Did Pepper leave?"

"Yeah, Natasha went with her to the office and she told me to keep an eye on you. And that you may require mouth to mouth if you stop breathing, but made it clear that she didn't care if I saved your life."

He shot Happy a quick shallow smile. "I screwed up."

"From the smell of you, I can tell." Happy led him over to sit in the kitchen where there was a serving of food sitting on the bar.

"Food. God, I'm starving." Tony commented as he managed to half ass sit up.

Happy sat down and watched as Tony pulled the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon towards him. Instead of returning his attention to the paper, he watched his boss eat the entire plate of food in minutes. Tony finished and glanced around. "Coffee?" Happy reached over and grabbed the pot and poured a cup for Tony. At first he sipped to test how hot the liquid was, but soon Tony was chugging the dark brew.

"You might want to slow down there." Happy suggested as Tony slammed the mug down on the counter.

"Shower. I stink."

"That's all on you there buddy." Happy helped Tony off the chair. "I can get you to your bathroom but after that you're on your own."

In a short time Tony was standing alone in his large bathroom, his arms leaning on the counter using it to hold him up. As his eyes scanned over the vanity he realized how much influence Pepper was having in his life. Her things were neatly organized in one corner and the only things she left out were her hair brush and toothbrush. "Jarvis."

"Yes, sir."

"Send a text to Pepper, tell her I'm sorry I screwed up." He stripped his clothes as he walked towards the large tub. Tony rubbed his face as the water quickly filled the basin.

"Miss Potts has replied; I'm busy." Jarvis announced. Tony grunted and climbed into the hot water to soak. "Sir, may I suggest against getting into such hot water when your body is dangerously dehydrated."

"I'll be fine. Not my first hangover." Tony settled into the tub and let the water ease his body pain. After several minutes of soaking his eyes closed and he felt completely at ease. Time seemed to pass and he'd lost track of time until Tony felt his stomach cramp. At first he ignored it, but the second time his eyes shot open and he started scrambling to get out of the water. He barely made it to the toilet in time as he threw up. Most of breakfast had been digested but his stomach was still protesting and the acid that had built up needed out. After emptying his stomach, Tony slumped down on the cool tile floor and felt his body temperature rise.

Against better judgment, Tony decided that the floor was more comfortable at the moment and as long as he didn't move, his stomach wouldn't protest as much. Jarvis kept a close watch on Tony's vital signs as he dozed on the bathroom floor.

By midafternoon Jarvis noted a steady decline in Tony's breathing pattern. "Sir, perhaps you should wake up." Tony didn't move. Jarvis blared music throughout the bathroom and once again Tony remained motionless. "Sir!" Jarvis tried again, but when Tony's respiratory rate dropped well below normal, he alerted Happy.

Happy was outside washing the black Rolls Royce when Jarvis notified him and he was at Tony's side in seconds covering him up with a robe. "What the hell happened?" Tony's eyes rolled in the back of his head as Happy tried to sit him up. "Tony?" Happy tried to get his boss to look at him but was unsuccessful. The man cursed and looked around as if the solution was going to appear.

"Shall I call the physician?" Jarvis offered.

"Yes." Happy sat with Tony and tried to get him fully conscious again.

Doctor Major arrived with an assistant and he quickly assessed Tony on the bathroom floor. "He's severely dehydrated; we need to start IV fluids." Happy and the assistant managed to get Tony to his bed as the doctor began sorting out what he needed. Happy stood back and watched as a catheter was inserted in Tony's hand and a bag of saline hung next to the bed. He watched as the doctor added several medications to the fluids bag. The doctor shook his head. "Tony, Tony, what have you done this time?"

Once the needed medications were administered, the doctor left and Happy remained in charge of watching over his boss. As the evening approached, Jarvis announced that Pepper was home. Happy wondered how this new situation was going to affect her.

Pepper walked through the front door and went straight to the shop. She wanted to talk to Tony about earlier and assumed he was downstairs. Her eyes scoured the area and everything minus the presence of Randy was as she had left it that morning. Confused, Pepper returned upstairs and decided to check the gym. It was quiet and empty, so she decided on her last resort third that he was in bed. She opened the door and walked in, but the sight before her stopped her in her tracks. Her mouth fell open but no words could form.

Happy saw the concern spread across her face. "He's okay, just a little dehydrated is all."

"What happened?" She slowly approached the bed where Tony lay still.

"Umm, well I guess he reached his limit last night, and according to Jarvis decided to get into a tub of hot water which made things worse. Doctor Major said he was just dehydrated and started him on fluids with potassium and calcium to help." Happy explained.

Pepper sat on the foot of the bed and looked across to Tony's sleeping form. She then closed her eyes and shook her head. Even she doesn't think she's seen him drink to the point of needing an IV before. "I'll be in the other bedroom tonight." She gathered what she needed and left the room.

She hurt. It was an emotional pain like she had never felt before. Tony had defied her wishes to the point where he needed medical attention for his actions. She showered and replied to several emails before going to find Natasha. "Would you like to accommodate me to Santa Anita Park tomorrow?"

The red head smiled. "Sure, what for?"

"My horse is running there and I'd like to see him, with or without Mister Stark." Pepper smiled knowing it was somewhat fake.

"Sure."

"Great. I'll tell Happy, and the three of us can have a Saturday at the races." Pepper then returned to her computer to finish up a few miscellaneous things from work.

The room was dark when Tony's eyes snapped open. He felt his heart begin to race as his mind began playing tricks on him. He felt the IV in his hand as he struggled to look around in the darkness. His legs flailed and kicked at the covers, while his free hand began pulling the intruding IV loose. Tony panicked and groaned as the catheter came out and he struggled to get out of bed. His eyes wouldn't focus, but he could see the dimly lit walls of a cave. "Yinsen!" Tony called out.

"There is no one here by that name, sir." Jarvis announced as Tony fell off the bed and landed on the floor. "Sir, perhaps you should calm down."

Tony's breathing was erratic as he crawled across the floor to the window. He managed to sit up with his back against the glass as he looked around the room. Blood was still seeping from where the IV had been, but Tony's mind had him locked back in the cave. Jarvis knew assistance was needed and summoned Pepper.

She groaned as she rose up from her bed and pulled on a robe. Her mind tried telling her that Tony was just trying to get her attention, but when she heard his scream emanate from the door she sped up.

"Yinsen!" Tony cried out again and tried to see through the dark. The arc reactor in his chest provided some light but it wasn't enough to see the room he was trapped in.

Pepper walked into his room and immediately asked Jarvis to turn up the lights. She was stunned to see Tony against the glass, eyes wide like a caged animal and ready to attack. Her legs carried her to kneel before him. "Tony, it's okay. It's just a bad dream." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and continued to tell him that it was okay. "You're safe, remember. You're home, Tony."

His chest heaved as he looked at her as if he could see right through her. His eyes had deceived him once already, and Tony was unsure how real Pepper was. He continued to breathe erratic and labored as he looked at her. "Pepper?"

She picked up his clean hand and placed it on her cheek. "It's okay, I'm here. Everything is fine." Pepper watched as he slowly calmed down. She picked up his bloodied hand. "I'm going to go get a bandage for this."

As she attempted to stand Tony reached out and grabbed her hand. "No no no no no no, wait. Don't leave!"

"It's okay. I'll be right back."

"Don't go, just stay, stay. Please, don't leave!"

Her heart proceeded to sink at his plea. She knew at first he had problems sleeping since his capture, but he was also creating Iron Man and working all the time. What suddenly set this off was beyond her. "Tony, you're bleeding. We need to stop it, so either I can go get some supplies and come back, or we can both go to the bathroom?"

His eyes locked with hers and while he desperately wanted her to stay, afraid she was going to leave him; he slowly nodded and watched her stand. Tony closed his eyes and tried to get a grip on reality. He'd have short nightmares the first weeks after his return, but nothing even came close to what just happened.

Pepper returned and picked up his hand. She began cleansing the wound before applying a bandage. "Do you want to talk about it?" She glanced at him before giving her full attention to his hand.

Tony's mind began replaying what happened like a bad movie. He closed his eyes as the sight of the men and women in the convoy were killed. He described to her what happened as the explosions and gunfire filled his senses. "I was shocked when I saw one of my weapons land in the sand next to me." He looked into her eyes and saw remorse. "I don't know how far back it threw me but I felt warmth all over my chest. I knew I was bleeding, but I didn't know how bad it was."

"I saw the video they made of you." She sat close to him.

He blinked as he looked at her. "I'm sorry you had to see that." Tony took several deep breaths. "I vaguely remember the video. I know it was shortly after they took me. The bleeding had stopped but I had a lot of shrapnel in my chest." He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "I do remember the pain." Pepper's hand moved to envelope both of his. "Yinsen dug out the pieces and most of the time I was conscious." Tony sighed and continued. "I remember waking up. The air was cold, I could see my breath. There was a tube down my nose, and the first thing I did was get it out. When I discovered the magnet in my chest, and the fact I was hooked up to a car battery, I almost lost it. I knew then I would die in that hell hole." Pepper rubbed their hands together as she showed him her support. He looked in her eyes. "I knew you were here, believing that I was alive, and that I'd be found."

"I never stopped." She rolled her eyes. "Well, some tried to convince me otherwise."

Tony knew she was referring to Stane. "Figures." He looked in her eyes and decided he needed to let it all out. "I didn't know if I was going to survive or not, but I sure as hell wasn't going to just roll over and die. And the more I learned about Yinsen, the more I wished I had told you how I felt." When she narrowed her eyes he elaborated. "He asked me if I had a family. I told him no and, he said I'm a man with everything, and nothing. I don't want to be that man anymore." Tony glanced down at their joined hands. "I'm trying to change Pepper. I want to change. For you, for us. And I can't promise anything overnight, but whenever I get out line, or you think I'm not doing enough, I need your help to get back on the right track."

Pepper's eyes filled with tears and she didn't attempt to hide them as they rolled down her cheek. Tony moved his hand to lift her chin up. She sniffled and tried to smile at him as he looked into her eyes with his. "Tony, I…"

He moved to silence her with his lips. It was the first time in days they had been so close and Pepper was grateful for him finally opening up to her. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her. Her body melted under his touch and she softly moaned and deepened the kiss.

After several minutes they broke apart, both of them heaving for air as Pepper pushed her forehead against his. Tony grinned at her and she smiled in return. "Can I keep the bike?"

Pepper closed her eyes for a moment and tried to understand his logic. "Just give me time to adjust, and please don't do anything stupid, like kill yourself."

Tony smiled at her. "I plan on making some modifications to protect myself."

"You're not helping." He shrugged and looked at her with a look that always seemed to make her heart melt. His large brown eyes could always get her forgiveness. That night Pepper slept with Tony at her side.

The next day Pepper woke feeling rested. The past nights she had gone to sleep angry and alone, and woke up feeling like crap. Today was different. As she cleaned up and dressed for the day her eyes glanced over the sleeping Tony Stark. She walked around to sit next to him and the instant she sat down, he stirred. "Good morning."

Tony rolled over on his back and stretched his arms over his head and grunted like a disturbed bear. "Why are you up so early?"

Pepper smiled and reached out to tease his goatee. "Well, my horse is running today, and Natasha was going to escort me to the track."

His eyes were closed and he grinned at her. "Hmm, that sounds so kinky you know." She swatted his chest. "Hey, a guy can dream can't he?"

"You're unbelievable."

"Hey, I've got a great idea." Tony sat up and returned her gesture by rubbing his thumb across her cheek. "Happy and I will be your dashing male escorts for the day." He waggled his eyebrows at her and Pepper laughed while standing and checking her watch.

"Okay, so you've got twenty minutes before we are supposed to leave." She watched as Tony rolled back and nearly fell off the bed as he headed quickly to the bathroom. Pepper went downstairs to inform Natasha of the small change in plans.

Tony showered quickly, shaved, and trimmed his goatee. He noticed Pepper's dress was a lavender color and he searched his wardrobe for the perfect outfit. One thing Tony had perfected was the art of dressing at breakneck speed. He just finished perfecting the knot in his tie when Pepper called to him that they were leaving. Tony rushed down the stairs and made it through the front door as they approached the car.

Pepper heard him behind her and turned. "Wow, impressive." She admired how he'd expertly matched his shirt and tie to her dress.

"Hey, give me some credit will ya. I can dress to impress." Tony waited until Pepper got into the car and he joined her in the back seat.

Natasha sat up front with Happy as he started the hour long trip to Santa Anita. Pepper sat silent and glanced out the window on occasion. She knew Tony wouldn't be able to sit quiet for very long and could only wait for him to start talking.

Tony felt like he was vibrating. He needed to talk, to tell Pepper that he's taking every safety precaution with the motorcycle. It was what started their disagreement, or at least it had been the object, his attitude towards her didn't help. Tony swallowed hard and tried to think how to breech the subject. "Randy has his first race in two weeks." He glanced at Pepper through his sunglasses without turning his head. She didn't budge. "I decided he needed to do a year or two in the AMA racing before going to the top of the ladder." Again no reaction. "I got an email yesterday after I registered my sponsorship in the AMA Superbike series. They want me to be the honorary leader for the warm-up laps before the race."

Pepper's head snapped around and she glared at him. Tony got his reaction. "I don't think so Tony."

"I haven't agreed to anything."

"Well good. Because I don't think that's exactly the wisest decision."

"If and I mean if, I agree to it, they are going to have Stark Industries co-sponsor the race, for free." He paused as she continued to glare at him. "It's a televised event that averages millions of viewers around the world."

Pepper knew that he had made up his decision, and that he just wanted her reaction so she was going to give it to him. "Look, I don't like the idea of you on that motorcycle. It's not like Iron Man where is something happens Jarvis can take over for you."

"I actually left that part out; they want Iron Man to ride the pace laps."

She sucked in a deep breath and held it. Tony was testing her patience and this was the last thing she wanted to discuss today before enjoying her time with her horse. "We'll talk about this later. All I want to do is relax and enjoy the day. I'm tired of arguing with you about this motorcycle thing Tony. Just…drop it for now."

Tony silently nodded and glanced out his window not sure what to say. He knew he was still on her shit list about the bike, ignoring her, getting drunk. Tony decided to end his list there before it got too far out of hand. He nervously stretched his neck and reached up to scratch his goatee.

Pepper noticed his trademark reaction to nervousness and tried to see things from his perspective but the only conclusion she had come to was that it was something a teenager would think about doing. The car became uncomfortably quiet and Happy tapped the wheel and hummed to himself hoping they would arrive at their destination intact.

Thankfully to Pepper, the race today at Santa Anita wasn't one that attracted a lot of media attention. She knew Tony loved the limelight and would always make sure the camera was on him. There were several cameras snapping pictures as they arrived, but nothing they couldn't handle.

Tony walked beside her with his hand resting on the small of her back. She followed an employee of the track to the stables where her horse was housed. They greeted Bob when they arrived. Tony just shook his hand and smiled, Pepper engaged in conversation with the white haired man. Happy and Natasha stood nearby and talked amongst themselves.

While Pepper was talking to several reporters, Tony found himself texting and replying to emails. One text was from Randy saying the bikes from Honda had arrived and they were going to get them modified today at the shop. Randy had located his old team quickly and when he explained the deal he had made, they all jumped at the opportunity. Tony smiled as he replied to the email from the AMA and agreed to ride the opening pace laps. He knew Pepper would be pissed, but he couldn't help it. After another thirty minutes of messing around on his phone Pepper tapped his shoulder.

Tony stowed it away and went with Pepper as she walked alongside Iron Dust as he was lead towards the track. He noticed how much she smiled when around the large animal and seeing her so relaxed was something she definitely needed. Between the company and himself, Tony didn't know how she could stay sane.

As they walked up towards where they were going to watch the race Tony heard his name called out. If it wasn't for the familiar voice, he would have ignored.

"Mister Stark."

Tony stopped and turned around. "Senator Stern, what brings you to sunny California from the hell hole of Washington?"

The man smiled. "Ha ha, very funny. Look I'm having problems getting weapons the United States has contracted you for to certain places in the world where our troops need them."

"Well, I would be glad to send whatever our boys in uniform need them as long as it's not in an area I consider to be at high risk for terrorists and insurgents to steal said weapons once they arrive. Unless that's the point?" Tony stepped to stand in front of the Senator. The man was several inches taller than Tony, but that didn't faze him.

"You're playing with fire Mister Stark."

"You're the one causing the fires. How much are they lining your pockets with? It can't be that much, but then again, maybe you're not the only one in on it. Got your own little conspiracy group going I'm sure."

"Are you accusing me, a sitting US Senator of treason?"

"I'm not accusing anyone of anything, yet." He emphasized the 'yet'.

"Tread carefully Stark."

By now several photographers were snapping pictures of the two men as they squared off against each other. Pepper got to her seat and noticed Tony wasn't with her. She glanced back over at the crowd and saw Senator Stern talking to him. Pepper rushed back over and threaded her arm through Tony's. "Senator Stern, if you have any comments or concerns about the recent order and shipments, I'll be happy to visit with you about them at Stark Industries." She spoke coolly and felt Tony's left arm flex in her grip as his stare never left the Stern's.

He gave Pepper an obviously fake smile. "Thanks Miss Potts, I appreciate the offer, but it's your boy toy here that's making my job hard."

Tony stepped up and shoved Stern with his free hand. "Don't you talk to her that way."

"Get your hands off of me or I'll have you arrested for assault." Stern quickly replied to the shove and several large bodyguards resembling secret service stepped closer.

Pepper gripped Tony's hand tightly as she knew he was about to lose control. "Come on Tony, let's just watch the race."

Stern smiled. "You may be able to screw her Mister Stark, but you're not going to get very far trying to screw me over."

"What? Is that a threat?" Tony turned against Pepper's pull and faced Stern once again. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't take threats very well." Stern narrowed his eyes at Tony. "Don't push me Stern."

Tony stood so that he was mere inches from the senator and when it seemed neither man was going to back down; Stern raised his hands and roughly shoved Tony. He stumbled back several feet but quickly regained his balance before smiling at the Senator. Tony took one step towards the man and swiftly swung a right hook catching the man across the face sending him falling backwards.

"Tony!" Pepper grabbed his arm as he tried to advance on Stern.

"I want him arrested!" Stern yelled while pointing at Tony with one hand and holding his bleeding nose with the other.

"Get off me!" Tony yelled as several men tried to restrain him. "Get off!" a third man joined in and they were able to get Tony's hands behind his back and in cuffs. "This is bullshit!"

Pepper stood back in shock unable to move until Happy and Natasha flanked her sides. She nearly jumped but they helped her through the now large crowd of photographers and reporters. They were shooting pictures as Tony Stark was being hauled outside followed by a bleeding Senator Stern and Pepper.

She tried to look unmoved by the situation as Happy hurried her into the backseat of Tony's car. She instantly closed her eyes and took several deep breaths before pulling her blackberry from her clutch. Her fingers scrolled through her large contact list before finding the number she needed. "Mike, hey it's Pepper. I'm sorry to bother you on a Saturday, but Tony's been arrested." She listened to one of LA's best attorneys give her some instructions. "The minute I know where they're taking him, I'll be sure to let you know. Thanks so much Mike." Pepper hung up and could feel the tension headache building.

Happy followed the caravan of Sherriff's cruisers towards the LA County Sherriff's office. Pepper remained quiet until Happy was able to inform her of where they were going and she immediately phoned Mike. Her next call then was to Rhodes. "Hey Rhodey, when do you think you're be back?"

"I'm finishing up helping Sherry pack what she has here on the base and then we'll be on our way, why, what's wrong?" He could sense the stress in her voice.

She sighed. "We went to the track to watch Dusty run and Senator Stern showed up. He started giving Tony a hard time and baited him. Rhodey, Tony punched him and broke his nose in front of everyone at the track, photographers included."

"What? Where's Tony now?"

"He's been arrested. We're following him and I've already called Mike. Just please get back as soon as you can." Pepper knew that James was the one person who could normally talk sense into Tony.

Rhodes sighed loudly into the phone and started to think. "Alright, we'll be about another hour and then we should be in the air."

"Thank you Rhodey." Pepper felt a slight part of the weight she was feeling lift from her shoulders.

When the caravan of cars pulled up in front of the sheriff's office word had spread and the entire parking lot was flooded with reporters. Pepper composed herself and waited for Happy and Natasha to open the door for her and as she stepped out was bombarded with questions and camera flashes. As the officers pulled Tony out of the back seat the rush of media personnel was almost too much for the officers to hold back. They fired questions at Tony as he smiled almost enjoying the attention regardless if his hands were cuffed behind his back or not.

Happy helped clear a path as Pepper followed Tony as he was escorted into the station. Before they entered the building there was a crowd of people that had gathered chanting 'free Iron Man'. Tony smiled while Pepper sighed and thought ahead of all the paperwork and trouble this was going to cause her.

* * *

><p>HA HA, who guessed I was going to get Tony arrested. It was spontaneous as hell let me tell ya.<p>

TDCSI


	12. Chapter 12

Well I shocked some with Tony's little incident, and now I've shocked myself in how fast I've completed the next chapter. So here ya go…

* * *

><p>Chapter 12<p>

As Tony was led through the office several officers and people sitting cuffed to chairs stopped and stared as Tony Stark was escorted by two deputies through the sea of people in handcuffs. Pepper ignored all the stares while Tony kept smiling at everyone as if it was a publicity stunt and no harm was going to come from it.

A deputy told Pepper where she could wait while Tony was processed. She sat down heavily as her phone buzzed with a text from Rhodes. 'On our way.' She smiled and didn't reply and began thinking of how she was going to get him out of this mess.

Tony was led into a small private room with only the two deputies. One un-cuffed him and instantly Tony rubbed his wrists. He smiled at them almost expecting to be let go.

"Mister Stark, if you'd so kindly empty your pockets."

"Seriously? Come on fellas, it was just one punch." Tony pleaded. "And besides, he's a politician. Don't tell me you wished it was you who broke his nose?" Both deputies giggled and nodded. "He's a pompous ass anyways."

"Guys got a point." One said to the other.

"Yeah, well, still." He sat on the table in front of Tony. "I'm sure you'll be out of here in a few hours, in the mean time we do have to do our jobs."

"I can understand that." Tony quickly took out his money clip and phone and tossed them on the table.

"That's it?"

Tony shrugged. "Yup. Well, I used to keep several condoms in there but since I've taken the road to monogamy…" He pursed his lips and grinned. "Kinda don't need 'em anymore." He winked at the deputies and they laughed.

"Been married for ten years with three kids and since birth control is hard on my wife, and I refuse to get cut, it's been condoms since the last one was born. So don't' think that will get you anywhere." The deputy put the money clip in a bag and sealed it.

The other stepped forward with a machine. "Okay, if you could set your fingers down in each box, we'll get your prints."

"Oh, goodie. At least you guys have upgraded from that black ink crap." Tony did as he was instructed. "Now what, a cavity search? I'm sure you've got some nice gals that work on the force I wouldn't object to." He didn't quite get the reaction he wanted as they then escorted him to another room.

Tony stood in front of the wall that had the numbers to read his height on it. "Seriously?" He rolled his eyes as the deputy handed him the plastic plaque that had his name on it. As he looked at the camera, Tony raised an eyebrow as if to look like the typical smart ass Tony Stark as he was getting his mug shot taken. He kept quiet the rest of the time and was then escorted back to the small room.

He sat down and impatiently waited. His hands tapped on the table, ran through his hair, and he even relented to pacing back and forth.

Eventually the door opened and Mike and Pepper entered. "Oh, thank God! Get me out of here." He embraced Pepper as she wrapped her arms around him. "You okay?" Tony kissed her cheek and felt her nod. "I'm sorry I ruined your day."

"It's okay." She pushed back and saw doubt in his eyes. "Really, I'll get my revenge." Tony's eyes narrowed.

"Ahem." Mike cleared his throat breaking up the couple. "Can we see if we can keep you out of jail for assaulting a United States Senator?" Once they sat down Mike started a tape recorder. "Okay, let's take it from the top."

Tony and Pepper explained why Senator Stern was harassing him and never thought the man would bring it into the public's view. Pepper also told her of the threatening emails and phone calls she's had with the senator. Mike made sure he got every detail.

"Okay, so this assault charge is pretty flimsy from what I can gather. You did hit him, I'm sure I can get you off with a fine, but you also may have to go as far as giving the man what he wants or he could bring a civil suit against you."

"Let the fucker try!"

"Tony!"

"No, I'm not going to be bullied by that man. He's been trying to get at me for months now and we know he is dealing weapons to the enemy." Tony held up his hand as Mike's mouth opened to speak. "I've got people working on that, and I think that's why he's trying to take me out of the picture. He already tried to kill me and Rhodey, and I'll be dammed if I'm going to let him keep putting my weapons in the hands of people who only want to cause havoc."

Mike took his clients words to heart and nodded. "Very well. I suspect they will have formal charges to me within the hour and then we'll explain to a judge why you don't deserve to sit in jail." He stood. "Pepper." Mike held out his hand indicating the she needed to leave as well. She nodded and left Tony with a kiss. He watched the door close and began going stir crazy once again.

An hour passed before Tony was escorted to a holding room where Pepper and Mike were waiting. She helped him retie his tie, and make sure he looked professional; instead of the disheveled look he was currently sporting.

They were then escorted into the small court room and Tony remained silent as Mike explained the situation to the judge. Senator Stern was sitting behind the Assistant DA and quickly jumped up to defend himself. "That's bullshit!"

The judge banged the gavel. "Senator Stern, please refrain from any outbursts."

Mike continued while Tony sat silent and looked hard as stone, but Pepper could tell a part of him was nervous. "My client was provoked into this assault. In fact, Senator Stern could be accused of verbally assaulting my client prior to the physical assault."

Stern narrowed his eyes at Pepper as she risked a look at the man. She quickly averted them to look back at the judge as he flipped through several pages. "All of this looks circumstantial, Senator Stern, you're just as much at fault in this as Mister Stark. I'm dropping the assault charge, and finding you both guilty of disturbing the peace. You each get a fine of $25,000, and you're free to go Mister Stark." The gavel echoed and Tony stood as Pepper hugged him.

Tony gathered his things and held Pepper's hand. Happy and Natasha were waiting next to the door as well as several deputies. He glanced outside and noticed the crowd had more than doubled. Tony slipped on his glasses and nodded for them to open the doors and he stepped out into the chaos.

The first thing Tony did was throw up a peace sign with his free hand. The crowd cheered as they watched him walk to the waiting car. Tony helped Pepper in first and turned towards the crowd. He waved and posed for several pictures before getting into the car.

Pepper made several texts as Happy drove them back to the mansion. Tony watched her fingers expertly type on the phones tiny keyboard and began to think dirty thoughts. He leaned over towards her and Pepper pushed him back without even glancing in his direction. Tony sat back against his seat and sighed. "Did your horse win?"

She kept typing and even though she heard his question, didn't acknowledge it. Pepper knew he wanted to make amends for ruining the one day she had planned to relax and enjoy the day without having to worry about anything. But like always Tony had managed to screw it up. Pepper moved her eyes to risk a quick glance at him and noticed that he was having a hard time with the silence. "Yes, as a matter of fact he did win. It would have been better to of seen it in person, rather than getting the news via text."

"Pep, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. Stern's a jerk and what he did was on purpose. He baited me and I fell for it, but I just can't stand back and have someone talk like that about you or me." Tony shifted in his seat so he was facing her. "I just hope you can forgive me for my actions."

Pepper turned and looked right at him. She was sure the shock on her face was evident. "Tony, I forgive you…"

"Good."

"But, you've also created havoc and my life is going to be hell this next week." She tried to explain. "The phone at the office is filling with voicemails right now I'm sure."

"About what?"

"You were arrested Tony! Don't you get that? Everything you do gets the attention of every little tabloid and columnist. I'm the one who has to absorb and reflect all of it while you just sit around in your basement and play with your toys." Tony slumped back against the door and took on the look of the kid being scolded for making a mess in the grocery store. "And I'm also trying to run the company. Since you decided you wanted to co-CEO, it's more like I've been doing all of the CEO work while still being your assistant, and all you can do is sit in the garage and play with your toys."

The car thankfully stopped in front of the house. Tony sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. What else can I say?"

"Stop saying and do something about it Tony!"

He nodded and climbed out of the car slamming the door behind him. Tony stormed past Natasha and went straight down stairs tugging his tie off as he went. He sat down at his desk and glanced over at the bike. "Jarvis you up?"

"Always."

"Think it's possible to create a heads up display in that helmet?" Tony stood and walked over picking up the black helmet and sliding it on his head.

"With you sir, anything's possible." The AI responded.

"I like where your head is at." Tony removed the helmet, shed his jacket and shirt. He popped the visor off and began pulling the padding out from inside the helmet.

Pepper sighed as she finished her text to Rhodes and exited the car. Tony was still retreating from conflict with her unlike Iron Man, who welcomed it. She changed out of her dress into shorts and a tank top and decided to run on the treadmill. Natasha sat in the office to report the incident to Director Fury while Happy decided to lift weights in the gym while Pepper ran.

Tony lost track of time as always when he had a project going. He was putting the finishing touches on his improved helmet when he asked Jarvis the time.

"It's two a.m."

"Wow, I guess time flies when you're having fun." He expertly smoothed out the decal he'd made over the once black helmet. Now it resembled Iron Man's helmet and the visor was darkened making it hard to see into it. Tony pulled it on his head and using a lead from the reactor in his chest plugged it in. He could barely see out of the visor when he pulled it down. "Activate heads up display."

Tony watched as the HUD booted up and had some resemblance from inside the Iron Man suit. "I have been uploaded sir." Jarvis' voice echoed through the newly installed speakers as Tony walked around his shop and moved to sit on the bike.

He started the engine and revved it several times before shutting it off. "Jarvis, where's Pepper?"

"She is lying in bed listening to music on her phone."

"What's she listening to?" He wondered if her song choice was going to reflect the way she was feeling at the moment.

_I know I can't take one more step towards you  
>Cause all that's waiting is regret<br>And don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore  
>You lost the love I loved the most<em>

_I learned to live half alive  
>And now you want me one more time<em>

_And who do you think you are,  
>running 'round leaving scars?<br>Collecting your jar of heats and tearing love apart  
>You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul<br>So don't come back for me, who do you think you are?_

Tony quickly pulled off the helmet and climbed from the bike. He set the helmet down in passing towards the door and rapidly climbed the stairs. Gently he opened the door and eased in the bedroom. He could see Pepper lying on the bed covered with a sheet. Her breathing was erratic and he knew she had been crying and he was the cause of her pain. He eased further into the room and as the song ended Pepper rolled over to set her phone on the night stand.

She froze when she saw him there looking at her. For a moment she wanted to tell him to leave her alone, but the look he held in his eyes spoke to her soul. Tony took another step towards her and then another. He knew he needed to get back on track and stop making her cry.

Tony kneeled next to the bed and took her hand in his. "Pepper, I can't explain why I do what I do, or say what I say. I've been so used to locking my feelings inside for so long that I forget how much I hurt you." He lowered his head and softly kissed her knuckles. "Saying I'm sorry seems so minuscule compared to the damage I always seem to do to you. I don't know what else to say or what I can do to show you that I am sorry for making you cry. I hate it when you cry."

Tears formed in her eyes, but these were happy tears and she let them fall freely. "I can only ask you to try and think how your actions affect me as well. You're not the only one that gets hurt by what you do you know?"

He nodded before using his free hand to wipe away the falling droplets of her tears. "God, I love you Pepper." Tony leaned in and softly kissed her lips.

The kiss was slow and sensual but quickly ignited a fire that had nearly gone out between them. Pepper pulled back the sheet and Tony quickly moved to rest on top of her. Their hands roamed as they kissed and Pepper was quick to pull his shirt off letting the soft blue glow from the reactor light the space between them.

Pepper helped Tony get her shirt off and he glanced at her body under the glow from his chest. Never had he been so in love. She was his ultimate weakness, like kryptonite to superman. Pepper was the only one who could defeat him.

As they made love Pepper held onto him tightly as if one of the many enemies of Tony Stark would appear and take him away. She softly bit his shoulder as he rocked into her. Her eyes closed tightly as she soared to the heavens beneath him. Tony whispered his undying love to her as he neared the end of the journey.

They slept entwined in a tangle of sheets and limbs hoping to wake to a better tomorrow. Tony woke hours later to Pepper sucking and licking on his ear. He hummed his enjoyment of her actions and when she stopped he rolled over onto his back and she moved to lie on top of him. His hands roamed her body as she took control and in the end leaving them stated and smiling in each other's arms.

Being a Sunday morning didn't detour anyone. Jarvis alerted the happily sleeping pair at nine a.m. that a group of reporters had gathered at the gates, and in the night he'd taken over one hundred voice mails.

Pepper groaned at the thought of digging through so many but she pried herself from Tony's grip. "Okay lover boy, time to clean up your mess."

Tony opened his eyes and watched her naked backside walk away towards the bathroom. "You look clean from here."

She couldn't help but burst out laughing. "You're impossible Mister Stark."

He groaned and climbed out of bed to get dressed. They went downstairs and the first thing Pepper did was have Jarvis help her go through the long list of voice messages. Tony sat at the breakfast bar dressed in jeans and a t-shirt reading the paper and eating breakfast. "It says here that I threw the first punch."

"You did Tony."

"Huh." He responded and kept reading.

Pepper shook her head and kept working. "So, do you want to talk about it to the press today, or wait until tomorrow?"

"Why do I have to do it today?" A helicopter buzzed the large window looking out over the ocean causing Pepper to jump. "Jarvis!"

"The helicopter is registered to SHIELD, sir."

"Fuck!" Tony threw his fork across the room and walked outside. The chopper landed and the door slid open. "What the hell now?"

"I told you to stay away from Stern."

"Oh, yeah, like I invited him out for a Saturday afternoon at the races. He ambushed me!" Tony stood face to face with the larger man.

Fury grinned. "You could have walked away." Tony laughed. "I'm about this close to getting to the bottom of Stern and his connections, but it's going to take more time. The man covers his tracks well."

Pepper watched from the door as Tony and Fury talked. She knew that it was something that upset Tony as he'd occasionally step back a run his hands through her hair. SHIELD was trying to use their resources to get the connection between the weapons and Stern. It was best to keep Tony as far away as possible and she knew this was paramount. But she also knew that it wasn't easy for Tony to stand on the sidelines and wait.

After a few more minutes, Natasha emerged from the house with a duffle bag. She climbed aboard the craft as Fury finished up his conversation with Tony. Pepper watched as Tony turned and stalked back towards the house. She stood aside and he stormed in and went downstairs. This was one of those times when Pepper knew he needed time alone.

Tony shrugged into the black leather jacket and pulled on his tweaked helmet. Once he hooked it up to the reactor, the HUD became active allowing him to see more clearly. He started the bike, spun it around leaving a burnout on the floor before racing out of the garage.

Pepper continued to deflect the majority of the press. Between Jarvis and herself, they wrote a written statement that was the truth and yet didn't put a dent in Tony's shining reputation. Most of the calls ceased as darkness enveloped the sea. She remained sitting on the couch and curled into the arm of it to wait for Tony and fend off the dull pain in her side. She knew she was under a tremendous amount of stress and hadn't eaten most of the day.

Hours had past and Pepper decided it would be best to go to bed. As she stood up she felt a sharp pain in her side. "Ow!" Her arms wrapped around her abdomen.

"Miss Potts, is everything alright?" Jarvis asked after hearing her expression.

"My side hurts. Like I'm being stabbed." She sat back down on the couch and leaned forward.

"Would my scanning you be of any benefit?" Pepper started rocking back and forth to ease the pain. "Shall I call for an ambulance?"

Pepper tried to stand but the pain was suddenly so severe that she fell back into the couch. "Tony!"

Tony was currently ten miles from his home speeding up PCH. He'd been riding solid for hours testing his bravery on the motorcycle. With the help of the HUD cornering and knowing what was ahead became much easier. And in the dark it was a necessity. He was passing cars left and right enjoying the thrill of the speed.

"Sorry to interrupt Mister Stark, but imperative that you return home immediately. Miss Potts is experiencing severe pain in her side and is requesting you." Jarvis told him through the connection.

Tony's eyes widened and he pushed the bike harder as he feared a repeat of last time. In minutes he was pulling into the driveway and stopped the bike at the front door. He peeled the helmet and jacket from his body as he ran inside. "Pepper?"

She heard him call out her name but couldn't respond. "She's on the couch sir." Jarvis told him.

He rushed over and kneeled next to her. Her skin was pale and chilled. "Pepper." Tony ran his hand over her dampened hair. "What's wrong?" She closed her eyes in the face of the pain. "Jarvis?"

"I have been unable to pinpoint from here the source of the problem, but her blood pressure and heart rate are increased dramatically. May I suggest getting her to a hospital."

"Hold on Pep." Tony picked her up and carried her towards the stairs. "Give me a good option for hospitals Jarvis."

"Both Doctor Major and Miss Potts physician work at Cedars-Sinai. It's approximately forty minutes away."

Tony held Pepper close and hesitated as he looked from the car to the suit. "Do they have a helipad?"

"Of course."

"Assemble the suit and alert the hospital." Tony set Pepper down on his couch and found a blanket to cover her in. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Hang on one second honey." Tony kept a close eye on Pepper as his machines dressed him in armor. He stepped over and gently scooped up Pepper. Making sure she was completely covered he walked quickly outside and shut the faceplate.

Flying without his hands was always tricky, but Tony knew it was possible with the help of Jarvis. The forty minute drive turned into a ten minute flight via Iron Man. He carefully landed and opened his helmet. Several nurses and a doctor were standing in shock of the sight before them as Tony approached them.

He set Pepper down on the gurney. "She's got severe pains in her side."

Now ignoring the man in the armor, the doctor began taking Pepper's vitals as they headed back into the hospital. The nurses started an IV in the elevator while the doctor lifted Pepper's shirt and began pressing down on her right side. Pepper groaned in discomfort. Seeing the importance of the patient laying before him, the doctor decided to skip the ER. "We need to get her straight to radiology."

"What's wrong with her?" Tony asked trying to see what was happening.

"What's her name?" A nurse asked.

"Um, Pepper Potts." Tony responded blindly.

"Does she have any allergies?"

Tony just gave the nurse a blank stare. "Her doctor's name is Diane."

The elevator stopped and everyone watched as Iron Man walked off and followed the woman on the gurney. It wasn't something that they saw on a regular basis. The doctor turned to Tony with his hand up. "I'm sorry but you can't follow her here. We're going to get an MRI, which is a giant magnet and well…" He looked Tony up and down. "You can wait in the family waiting area and we'll let you know once we get her scanned."

The doctor disappeared and Tony turned around and came face to face with a hall full of people staring at him. He closed the helmet so they couldn't see his face, and he walked into the waiting room and sat down.

"Jarvis, wake Rhodey, tell him I need him here."

"Right away sir."

Tony sighed and leaned back into the chair. He sat completely still thinking up every possible scenario that could be wrong with Pepper. The first thing that came to mind was that he'd gotten her pregnant again and it was too soon, and her body was rejecting the baby. If something like that happened twice, he wouldn't know how he could live with himself. After that he didn't have a clue as to what was wrong with her.

The attending stood at the door and looked at the large figure sitting in the waiting room alone. The sheer sight of him was intimidating, but having to tell him what they had discovered was another. "Ahem. Excuse me, Iron Man?"

He heard the voice and his head snapped to see the doctor standing in the door. Tony stood sharply and lifted the helmet so the man could see his face. "Pepper, how is she? What's wrong with her?"

"She's got appendicitis. Quite a severe case I'm afraid. Has she complained in the past few days of pain in her side, bloating, running a low grade fever?" Tony blindly shook his head. "Well, it looks like we may have caught just in time. It appears to have ruptured recently and we're hoping the infection can be kept to a minimum." As he spoke the doctor realized he'd lost the attention of Tony. "Iron Man?"

Tony shook his head briefly. "Huh? Oh, it's Tony, Tony Stark."

"Nice to meet you Mister Stark. I've got some forms here for you to fill out for Miss Potts."

"Where is she?"

"She's in surgery. How long it takes depends on how bad the peritonitis is. We'll let you know when she's out of surgery." He turned a left Tony standing alone.

Felling his chest become tight Tony closed the helmet and returned to the chair. "Jarvis, her appendix ruptured. Did she have any signs of pain prior to tonight?"

"None that I could detect. Colonel Rhodes is on his way."

Tony smiled. "He's not a Colonel anymore remember?"

"Yes, habit, my apologies sir. Technically he still is a Colonel in retirement." Tony smiled at Jarvis' statement. His AI could most definitely adapt human traits. "There is a camera in the operating room; I can hack in and…"

"Do it." Tony quickly interrupted. He sat back and watched the doctors operate on the love of his life.

Rhodes went up to the floor where everyone said Iron Man was and found Tony in the waiting room. The chest RT was lit, however the eyes were not. He grinned and assumed Tony was asleep, just no one knew it. His finger tapped the side of the helmet. "Wake up." He watched as the eyes relight and the suit seemed to sit up straighter.

Tony focused as the suit booted up, and Rhodes was standing before him. The faceplate slid back. "Bout time you got your ass here."

He stepped back as Tony stood. "What happened to Pepper?"

"Apparently it's appendicitis."

"Mister Stark?" They both turned to see an older man standing in green scrubs. "Wow, um I thought they were joking when they said Iron Man was waiting here."

He walked towards the doctor, his metal feet clanging with every step. "How's Pepper?"

"Miss Potts is in recovery. She's got a nasty infection, but with a strong course of antibiotics she should be fine in a few days." The doctor looked up and down at the suit.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. "When can I see her?"

"In a few hours, then we'll have her in her own room."

Rhodes stepped in. "Hey, go home, get out of that thing and come back. I'll stay here with her."

He nodded and looked back at the doctor. "I need to get to the roof."

* * *

><p>Well wasn't that no fun? Yeah, sorry I had to do a 180 on y'all, but I didn't want it to go completely smooth, cause that wouldn't be me at all.<p>

_Song: 'Jar Of Hearts', Christina Perri_

It just fit.

TDCSI


	13. Chapter 13

Okay I know I've been not so nice to these poor people, but I promise things will start looking up. For now.

* * *

><p>Chapter 13<p>

In just under an hour, Tony screeched his Audi to a halt in front of Cedars-Sinai hospital. He tossed the keys to a valet before walking through the doors. As he headed towards the elevator and boarded, it suddenly hit him, he had no idea where he was going.

Before the doors close, Tony squeezed out and went to the large desk where a nurse was sitting. The blonde smiled brightly at him as he approached. "Hi."

Tony instantly recognized the seductiveness in her voice and had to shake it off. "Uh, hi, listen my girlfriend just had emergency surgery, and I was wondering if you could tell me what floor she's on?"

The blonde didn't hide her disappointment as she turned to her computer. "What's her name?"

"Pepper Potts."

She clicked the keyboard a few times before giving him the answer he needed. "Miss Potts is currently in recovery. There's a waiting room just outside the ward on the seventh floor."

"Thank you." He noticed the lack of eye contact as he left and wondered if all women were so quick to try and get close to him.

The elevator ride was quick and Tony found himself on the familiar floor. He walked down to the small family room and noticed his friend still sitting on the small couch. Rhodes glanced up as Tony entered and checked his watch. "No way."

"I'm here aren't I?"

"You've only been gone forty five minutes, and it takes forty of that to drive here." Rhodes stated the obvious.

Tony glared at him. "Does it? Cause it didn't take me that long."

Rhodes sat up straighter and pointed at his friend. "You're going to kill yourself with that car one of these days."

"Yeah, well, you should come see my newest toy. It's only got two wheels."

He shook his head. "There's no way Pepper would let you buy a motorcycle." Tony just looked at his friend. "No way. She'd murder you and hide your body."

With a grin Tony responded. "Yeah, actually she hates it, so don't bring it up around her. But I got that one for free. Guess I got a buy three get one free deal. Or maybe it's because I'm me?"

Rhodes closed his eyes. "You're impossible man."

"So how's your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"She's not?"

"No."

"So what should I refer to her as?"

"Sherry, her name is Sherry."

"Okay." Tony continued to look at his friend. "Just Sherry?"

"Why? Why do you have to do this to me?"

"I'm just asking."

"It's just Sherry okay." Rhodes said sternly hoping to shut him up.

Tony twiddled his thumbs for a short time before he continued his banter. "I noticed you haven't' been at the house."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"I know what you're trying to do."

"What am I doing, huh? I just said a simple statement." Tony defended.

Rhodes sighed. "I know what you're implying."

"I'm not implying anything, I just made an observation."

He was losing his patience but knew that Tony wasn't one to just give up. "Look, I was with her at the hearings, helped her pack what she had in DC and arranged for it to be shipped here. I was kinda in a hurry since Pepper sent me an urgent text to get back here since your ass was going to jail."

Tony pursed his lips. "Yeah, not my brightest moment."

"Then after we're in the air she calls off the alarm, so I started helping her look for places in Malibu."

"One or two bedroom?"

"Jesus H. Christ you're impossible, you know that?"

"It's just a question."

Rhodes closed his eyes and took a deep breath when a knock broke their discussion. Both men turned and looked at the nurse standing in the doorway. "Am I interrupting?"

"No." They both answered simultaneously.

"We're about to move Miss Potts. I can show you to her room." Tony and Rhodes stood and followed the nurse to the elevator. They went up several more levels before exiting and being led to one of the rooms. "If you want to wait here, she'll be brought up shortly."

Tony glanced around the small room that only allowed for standing or walking room only. "Excuse me, is there some way I can get a bigger room?"

"A bigger room?"

"Yeah, this one is so small. Something that's like at least three times this size and has comfortable furniture?"

"Tony, stop it." Rhodes pleaded.

"What, I want Pepper to get the best care and be as comfortable as possible." Tony glanced back at the nurse. "I'm sure there's someone I can talk to that can arrange that in exchange for a donation of some kind?"

"Give me a minute." The nurse hurried off.

Tony turned his head towards his friend slightly before grinning. "I can't believe you." Rhodes stated.

"Can you blame me? I mean look at this." Tony referred to the room and stepped out into the hall with Rhodes following him out.

"A representative from our foundation is on her way up to speak with you." The nurse informed him.

Tony smiled graciously at her. "Thank you. See Rhodey, all you have to do is ask."

He scoffed. "And have a big checkbook."

"That helps." Tony shrugged.

They only had to wait several minutes before a shorter woman in business attire approached them. "Mister Stark, I heard you were looking make a donation?"

"You could say that." He turned and shook the woman's hand. "My CEO just had her appendix removed, and from what her doctors tell me is that she'll be staying for several days to get the infection under control."

"I understand your concern. Let me just say we can accommodate you're every need and desire."

"Excellent."

Once Pepper was situated in her room, Rhodes left with a pat of reassurance to Tony's shoulder. Tony remained standing next to her bed and looked over her features. Her face was still pale, and her breathing was shallow, but he could see the monitor reflecting her strong heartbeat.

Several IV's hung administering antibiotics and fluids to keep her hydrated. Tony swallowed hard as he gently picked up her hand. He lowered himself and softly kissed her paled cheek. His hand left hers briefly as he pulled a chair close to her bedside. Once settled in, Tony picked up her hand again, and just watched her. The fear of losing her kept his eyes open all night long.

By morning several nurses had been in to check on her vitals and antibiotic rate. Tony's eyes couldn't hide his exhaustion, but he refused to sleep. He wasn't going to leave Pepper's side until she woke up.

"Good morning." Tony glanced over to the door. "You know these rooms are expensive."

"She's worth it."

Diane walked over to the foot of the bed and picked up the chart. "When I told Pepper on the phone last week that we needed to get together this isn't exactly what I had in mind." She set the chart down and checked the antibiotics. "I'd ask how you're doing, but it's a bit obvious." Tony could only glare at the woman. Now he knew why Pepper liked her so much. "She's going to be fine Tony. We have the state's best doctors on staff here. She's in excellent hands. And from the look of her vitals and current blood work, she should make a full recovery."

"How did this happen?" He asked his voice raspy and heavy with exhaustion.

"Well, we don't know why, just that it does. It's become fairly common and can affect someone without and previous history of anything." Tony sighed at her comment and looked back at Pepper. Diane moved around the bed and kneeled next to him. "She's strong, she's a fighter. Everything's going to work out." She stood and walked towards the door.

"Diane." Tony spoke causing her to stop and look at him. "Thanks."

She nodded. "I'll be back later to check on you guys."

Tony sighed and looked back at a sleeping Pepper. "Wake up Pep." He didn't move but just looked at her face. Her color had improved and she didn't feel as hot to the touch as she had the previous night. After another sigh Tony sat up and moved to sit on the bed next to her. His weight caused the mattress to dip and Pepper stirred.

Pepper took in a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. She assumed she was in the hospital by the way she felt. Her eyes looked up into Tony's and when she smiled he returned it. She opened her mouth to speak, but it was so dry no words would form.

"Hold on." Tony reached over to the small glass of water and held it up, putting the straw close to her mouth. Pepper took several drinks from the straw before releasing it. "Better?"

She nodded. "You look like crap."

Tony smiled. "You're one to talk. Although I must admit you look better than last night."

Pepper leaned back into her pillows and continued to look at him. "I expected more of a smart ass comment from you."

He scooted closer and picked up her hand cradling it in his. "You scared the living shit out of me last night. Don't ever do that to me again."

"Yes, because I enjoyed it so much." She tried to sit up further and groaned at the pain in her abdomen.

"Here let me help." He carefully aided her so she could sit up and readjust her body.

"What was it?" She asked and pointed for the water again.

Tony passed her the cup and sat back down. "Well, your appendix ruptured."

"Seriously?" He nodded. "Wow." She lifted the blankets as if she thought she was going to see the surgery marks. Tony moved his head trying to see himself and Pepper quickly let the blanket fall. "Tony?"

"What? It's not like I haven't seen you naked before." He smiled as she softly laughed.

Pepper spent two full days in the hospital before being released. Tony tipped all of the nurses that had anything to do with Pepper's care and wrote out his donation demanding it be kept anonymous. She had strict instructions on what to look for in case the infection worsened. With antibiotics in hand Tony led her down to a side entrance to avoid the press that had gathered at the main lobby. There were stories ranging from Tony had overdosed to being injured as Iron Man since it didn't take long for word of his appearance at the hospital to spread.

They were helped into Tony's car by hospital security, and he drove towards their home. When they arrived, Tony helped Pepper from the car and Happy took her bag from the trunk. "You look much better boss."

"Thanks Happy." She let Tony lead her into the house.

"Welcome back Miss Potts." Jarvis spoke as they entered the house.

"It's good to be back Jarvis." She glanced over at her phone as it sat on the counter. "My phone."

"Don't think so. You're on mandatory sick leave for the next few weeks." Tony informed her.

Pepper looked at him. "Oh really? And who's going to run the company?"

"I have done it before you know." He looked at her as she raised her eyebrows at him. "Okay, you can help from here, but I'll go to the office every day, I'll even go to some meetings."

"You're going to go to meetings?"

"I said 'some'." He clarified.

That week Happy stayed at the house with Pepper while she worked on her computer and phone from comforts of the mansion while Tony donned a different suit each day and drove to Stark Industries. Katie was keeping him up to date on meetings and made sure he made the most important ones. Of course by the middle of the day, he would get bored and disappear.

Tony would go to the racing shop and visit with Randy. They admired the bikes and when their leathers from Alpinestars arrived from Italy, they both tried them on. Tony walked around trying to get a feel for them. "I feel like I'm wearing tights."

"Yeah, but see how much movement there is." Randy showed him by moving his arms and legs. "This makes riding so much easier when you're flexible. And if you go down, the leathers just help you slide across the asphalt instead of roll."

"Speaking of flexible, I can't ride those laps next weekend, I promised Pepper. So, I've agreed to co-sponsor the race anyway."

Randy nodded. "The guys and I are packing up Monday to get to the track and start qualifying."

The crew of four Randy had assembled worked on the set of Stark Industries racing bikes. Tony walked over to them. "Okay, here's the deal. You guys win our first race next week, and I'll take you out for the weekend. Anywhere within reason."

"Vegas." One guy spoke up quickly.

"Vegas it is." Tony announced.

Randy laughed. "That wasn't hard for you at all was it?"

Tony smiled. "Me and Vegas have a thing." The guys all laughed at him. "So, do we have a deal?"

"Hell yeah!" They all yelled in unison.

The following week flew by and the day of the race arrived, Tony gently reminded Pepper of it, and that Katie was going to be spending the day waiting on her every beck and call. Happy was going with him to the track to keep him out of trouble. Once it was established that he wasn't getting on a bike, she was okay with it. Tony told Jarvis how to find the live feed to the race if Pepper wanted to watch, which he knew she wouldn't

Tony and Happy flew to the small airport closest to Mazda raceway and was driven to the track and taken by golf cart to his pit area. The crew all greeted Tony as he looked over his bikes and those of the competition. "So, where do we start?" He clapped his hands together and looked around.

"Randy qualified third."

"Third, I can do third." Tony smiled at some races sponsorship girls that walked by in bikinis and adjusted his tie. Happy elbowed him. "You know a guy can still look. And you'd get more looks yourself if you weren't dressed like one of the blues brothers."

Tony watched as Randy went through a ritual of sorts before getting his helmet on and got help with his gloves. He stayed back and just let the team do what they needed to do. Tony and Happy sat down in the pit box as the large flat screen television broadcasted the race.

After the opening laps were done and nerves had calmed down the racers began to spread out. Randy was sitting in a solid third following very close to the two in front of him.

Happy admitted being out doing something different was a nice experience and he pulled his tie off and shoved it in his pocket. Tony looked over at him as he was undoing the top button of his white shirt. "What?"

"Nothing." Tony stated and went back to watching the race.

As the final laps drew near Tony and Happy left to pit box and stood next to the wall. Randy was now in second and right on the leaders ass. Tony and Happy both cheered as he went past the stretch and then would look back to the small screen being held by the crew chief and watched. When they got closer everyone would watch them race by. Now Randy was in front. Tony jumped and clapped his hands. He had no idea how the man made a pass but there was only one lap to go.

Randy kept focused on the track. He knew he had the race won if he didn't screw up. Several times he could hear the second place rider next to him but he was faster out of the corners and eventually put some space between them. As he crossed the line first he stood and put his arms in the air. The weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders as he won.

As they all met in the winner's circle, the cameras flashed and Randy popped the champagne to spray his team. Tony was pulled aside from the network broadcasting the race and interviewed him.

"Tony Stark, how did you become owner and sponsor of your own super bike team?"

"Well, I've been looking for new and unique ways of advertising, and since part of what Stark Industries does is mechanics and engineering, why not own and sponsor something that goes insanely fast? Randy's brother actually works for the company and is the reason I took a look at super bikes for a form of marketing if you will." Tony made sure that he looked spectacular on camera and as always wore sunglasses.

"Congratulations go celebrate with your team." Tony retreated and shook everyone's hand and received a hug from Randy.

"Turn it off Jarvis." Pepper asked.

"Wow, I'm sure Mister Stark is elated." Katie commented.

The afternoon had gone by slowly and so Pepper and Katie decided to rest next to the pool and work on their tans. Only when the race neared the end did Pepper have Jarvis turn it on. "Oh I'm sure now he thinks he's come up with the next best thing since sliced bread and is going to burry himself in that damn motorcycle."

"Ah." Katie didn't risk a look at Pepper but knew she was right.

After everything was packed up and in the trailer Tony finished his phone calls and approached Randy and the team. "Okay, everyone, a deal's a deal. The rig stays here; someone from Stark is coming to get it while we're headed to the airport."

Tony was surrounded by cheers as Happy looked at his boss confused. They all boarded the plane and in less than an hour were walking off and into a limo. Happy still had no idea what was going on as the car took them all to Cesar's Palace. The five men were all beside themselves as they followed Tony and Happy into the large hotel.

They were all escorted up to a private suite and it was then Tony told them. "So, I promised a good time, we've got an hour before our ride gets here so get dressed up like you want to get laid tonight."

Tony then retreated into the main bedroom followed closely by Happy. "Sir, what's going on?"

"Yeah, sorry to just spring this on ya Hap, but I honestly didn't think he would win his opening race. Anyway I promised the guys that if they won, we'd party in Vegas." Tony held up his arms. "And here we are."

Happy took in several deep breathes and sat down in a chair and looked at the garment bag hanging before him. "Ah, what the hell."

Tony was thrilled with the way Happy looked and was shocked the other guys could dress decent as well. They went down to the waiting limo and climbed inside. As it went down the strip Randy and a few other guys hung out the windows and moon roof. The drive was short and the long car stopped at the back entrance of Crazy Horse III.

The guys all climbed out and into the arms of waiting girls. Even Tony took one under each arm as they walked inside the large establishment. They were lead to a private seating area, but could still view the main stage. Happy held the girl that sat in his lap by her hips as the party got started.

The first bottles of champagne disappeared quickly and they started in on the vodka. Tony still had the same girls on either side of him as they fed him fruit with cream and helped him drink. Happy received several kisses from the girls and one even walked up and offered him a body shot.

"You have to do it, Happy. If you don't you're breaking a sacred man law I swear to God." Tony told him.

The other guys started chanting his name as the girl straddled his lap and put the shot of vodka between her breasts. Happy's eyes locked with the shot.

"Come on Hap, dive in!" Tony egged him on and cheered when his friend went for it.

Happy downed the drink and dropped the glass before putting his face on the woman's chest. "That was so good."

Tony was getting tired of eating strawberries and looked at the girls. "Why don't you two feed each other?"

Happy sat back next to his friend as one girl sat on Happy's lap and the other made herself at home on Tony's. As they were chewing the fruit they leaned in closer to each other and started kissing. "Oh dear lord." Happy commented.

"That is so sexy. Keep going girls, you're doing amazing." Tony encouraged.

They didn't leave the club until seven the next morning and were taken straight to the plane and flown directly to Stark Industries. Someone else drove Tony and Happy back to the mansion and when they both walked in and entered the kitchen they were greeted by Pepper and Katie sitting behind a laptop.

Pepper glared at Tony and he knew that she knew. "What?"

"Back to the old Tony Stark I see." She commented.

"Wha…Pepper, where on earth did you get that notion from?" He watched as the computer spun around and a video on YouTube played of Happy taking the shot and them watching the girls kiss while sitting in their laps. "I can explain that."

Happy sulked away leaving Tony to fend for himself.

"Yeah, well from what I can see it's not going to take much explaining." She turned the computer around and closed it. Pepper stood and wrapped her robe tighter around her body as she walked up to Tony. "You're drunk, and smell like strippers."

As she walked away Tony turned and groaned. "I don't even know what strippers smell like." He started after her. "Come on Pep. I promised the guys if they won I treat them to whatever they wanted. Who knew they were all single and wanted to hit up a strip club in Vegas?"

"Did you even consider me in the equation Tony?" She yelled back at him.

He almost had to take a step away from her as she began getting offensive against him. "Yes I did. I didn't kiss anyone, I didn't do shots off anyone, I didn't grope anyone, and to top it all off, I didn't sleep with anyone. I just drank, let them feed me and had a good night with the crew to celebrate. That's it!" Pepper sat down on the bed and looked at him confused. "Hell I'm really not even drunk. Happy's worse off than I am."

"Tony, I know you're trying to change…"

"I am changing. The old Tony Stark would have had a bed full of women within the first few hours; I sat in the same seat all night and only left to pee." He moved so he was kneeling in front of her. "I know that little video looks bad, but it was a three minute clip of a night that lasted…" His eyes looked up trying to remember how long they were there. "I can't remember, but hours. I didn't even expect us to go. I really didn't think Randy could pull off a win, so I thought I had made the safe bet."

Pepper closed her eyes and tried to listen to his explanation without completely losing it. She breathed in several deep breaths and released them slowly. Tony put his hands on her legs and started rubbing the tops of her thighs. Her eyes opened and she glared down at him.

"Just doing this to you is turning me on. Every time I touch you in any intimate way all I can think about is kissing and holding you close to me." Tony leaned down and kissed the tops of each thigh. As he did he risked a glace further under the robe. He sat back on his legs and grinned. "Naughty girl."

"Shut up Tony." Pepper tried to remain serious but as he mentioned it something in her mind clicked. Tony leaned down and kept kissing her legs. "Tony, stop." He sat back and looked at her. Pepper stood and walked past Tony into the bathroom.

He quickly stood and followed her as she pulled a small calendar out from one of the drawers. "You have a calendar in the bathroom?" Tony leaned over and watched her as she counted on the days with her finger. "What's going on? Did I miss something?"

Pepper straightened up and looked at Tony through the mirror. He looked back at her with a hint of concern on his face. She then turned and took his hands in hers. "No, but I did." Her hands pulled his to her lower stomach and she smiled.

She watched as Tony mentally connected the dots. He blinked several times before looking back up at her in shock. "You're kidding?" Pepper shook her head. "Seriously?" She didn't get the chance to respond as Tony picked her up and spun her around as he held her tightly. "Do we know when?"

"Well…" Pepper pointed to the calendar. "I had surgery that night, and we haven't been intimate since then."

"Oh trust me, I know."

She swatted him. "Would you shut up for five seconds?" Pepper shook her head. "That was almost two weeks ago and after you were arrested it was here."

"You remember the nights we have sex?" Tony whispered close to her neck as he stood beside her. "That is so hot."

"Missing my period is something I've started thinking about." She whispered back.

"You need to take a test."

Pepper shook her head. "It may be too soon, and what if the antibiotics and surgery did something to screw everything up?"

Tony leaned in closer. "There's an answer to that." She smiled waited for him to give her his explanation. "Jarvis."

She rolled her eyes as the AI started speaking. "At the moment, and under your current conditions, conceiving would be unlikely." The mirror changed to show a digital image of a woman's body.

"Oooh, it's just like being back in sex ed." Tony squeezed her.

"I bet you taught it."

"Touché."

Jarvis continued. "There were two deposits made as a follicle was nearing ovulation."

"Deposits? She's not a bank Jarvis." Pepper laughed as Tony corrected his own computer.

"Yes, forgive me. There were two inseminations the night before your surgery. However, with the sudden onslaught of infection, and the evasiveness of the surgery, not to mention the potency of antibiotics you were on, it's doubtful that the follicle ovulated and was fertilized." Jarvis illustrated on the mirror what he was talking about. "From observing your procedure it looks as though they lavaged your abdomen with an antibiotic tainted saline. The probability is high that the levage reached your fallopian tubes. That type of solution is fatal to sperm cells."

"Poor little guys. They never had a chance." Tony commented.

"Had those events not taken place, your chance of conception was likely." Jarvis finished.

"Well, we'll just have to wait a few more days and see if you're right Jarvis." Pepper said and turned in Tony's arms. "I'm still upset with you."

"Wha…"

"But…" She silenced him. "I'm not as mad. I believe your story, and I'm sure once Happy is recovered enough he can verify it."

Tony smiled and gave her a soft kiss. "I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, go to bed." She turned him around and pushed him out of the bathroom.

He collapsed on the soft mattress and groaned. "Goodnight."

"Good morning." Pepper mocked before leaving him to rest.

* * *

><p>See, good things are happening. But I wouldn't recommend getting too comfortable just yet, cause anything's possible with me at the helm.<p>

TDCSI


	14. Chapter 14

Well I'm sorry this is so ridiculously late. We've gotten terribly busy at work and I've been too tired to write let alone let my mind do any kind of plotting. So, this isn't my best chapter, but I needed it as a connecting piece.

* * *

><p>Chapter 14<p>

Pepper sat at the small living room table with Katie surrounded by paperwork and her computer. She had plans to return to the office tomorrow, and since her surgery she has found it nearly impossible to catch up at the house. The hours flew past as they watched the latest stock reports and projections. She looked up when Stark Industries was mentioned and how most analysts thought sponsoring another racing team looked like a bad move, but after the win many are speculating a jump in the stock prices.

A groan pulled their attention towards the small kitchen area. Happy staggered in, opened the fridge and pulled out the half gallon of orange juice. Pepper and Katie watched as he proceeded to drink the jug empty. They both grinned as Happy put the empty container back in the refrigerator before he stumbled back to his room.

It was then that Pepper checked her watch. "I wonder where Tony is. He normally doesn't sleep longer than five hours" She shook off the notion and returned to her work.

When they decided to call it a night and Katie gathered most of Pepper's things she needed at the office. They said goodnight and Pepper went to check in on her Iron Man. The room was pitch black and she couldn't see a thing. She took several tentative steps into the room and Jarvis kindly offered some illumination.

She could see the bed was empty, but the covers were still messy from where Tony once laid on the comforter. "Tony?" Pepper walked into the bathroom and checked for him but he wasn't there either. A slight worry crept into her mind.

"I believe if you check on the floor next to Mr. Stark's side of the bed." Jarvis informed her.

Pepper followed the AI's directions and sure enough on the floor fully dressed was Tony. He was on his stomach with one arm at his side and the other stretched out over his head. She kneeled down and reached towards his shoulder. "Come on Tony, it's time to get in bed."

She gave a gentle shake and he coughed several times. Tony heard her voice and forced his body to move. He managed to roll over onto his back. The movement made his entire body ache, and he groaned in discomfort. "Ow."

Her smile faded quickly as she cupped his face. "Tony, you're burning up." The heat radiating off his skin felt hot in her hands.

"Fire, what?" He tried to sit up and several more coughs escaped his lips. "I fell like shit. What happened?"

"You've been up here all day alone. Remember, sleeping off the Vegas stripper trip?" He groaned his response as he remembered. "Jarvis, can you take his temperature for me?"

"Of course. Mr. Stark's current body temperature is 103 degrees."

"Tony, you've got a fever. Come on, you need a shower, medicine, and rest." She stood and Tony helped her to get him on his feet. Pepper led him into the bathroom. He stood still on shaky legs as she undressed him. She waited for any sexual comment from him but it never came. He was unspoken as she undressed and led him into the large shower. She adjusted the water temperature so it was cool but bearable.

"Cold!" Tony exclaimed as she guided him under two different shower heads. "Cold, cold, cold."

"It's not that cold, it just feels that way because you've got a fever." She ran her hands over his shoulders spreading the water around. "Just a few minutes."

Tony closed his eyes and let the feel of her hands on his body distract him. While the water felt insanely cold, Pepper's hands carried a warmth that eased his discomfort. He was snapped back to reality when the water suddenly stopped. His eyes blinked away the water on his lashes and he looked at her concerned expression.

"Better?" Pepper offered a warm smile and all Tony could do was nod in return. "Come on Iron Man." She led him by his hand and to the large vanity. "Here, take these." Pepper shook several pills out onto the counter. Tony did as she told him while she went over his body with a towel.

Once they were both mostly dry, Pepper led him to their bed where she pulled all of the covers off except a thin sheet. They both got situated and Pepper snuggled into his side. She waited until his breathing had leveled off and he was asleep before she let her own exhaustion take her.

The next morning Tony woke in a slight haze. The memories of the previous night were foggy but once he realized he was naked, the recollections became clear. "Oh good, you're up." Pepper walked in from the large closet dressed for work. "I'll be at the office today, so call me if you need anything." She sat on the bed next to him and felt his forehead. "At least you're fever broke. Take it easy today while I'm gone." She leaned down and kissed his forehead even though Tony was quick to pucker his lips. "Oh, and Happy's still recovering as well. So go easy on him as well."

Tony never got a word out before she left. He looked at the ceiling and sighed. At least he did feel better. Tony moved slow but with determination as he went back into the shower and cleaned up. Jeans and a t-shit was his wardrobe of choice for the day and as he walked downstairs to the kitchen. Tony stopped and smiled as there was a large box of doughnuts and a steaming cup of coffee waiting for him on the counter.

He sat and ate in silence until a distant groan caught his attention. Tony smiled and waited as Happy finally made his appearance. He looked at his boss and Tony could still tell he wasn't feeling well. "Breakfast?"

Happy sat down. "What day is it?"

"Umm, Monday."

"I've been…" He couldn't finish his thought as he sat down next to Tony and poured himself a cup of coffee.

The two sat in silence and ate. Even after the coffee had gone cold and the doughnuts were no longer appetizing they sat motionless. Happy's eyes grew heavy and he leaned over the counter and dozed off. Tony turned and looked at his friend before standing and going down to his shop.

The place felt cold as it had been some time since he'd actually spent more than an hour in his lair. The lights came on as he entered. Tony walked over to his desk and sat down quietly. His eyes scanned over his current collection of cars and his motorcycle. He spun around in his chair and it stopped leaving Tony looking at the Iron Man picture he had hung on the wall against Pepper's will. Then he turned to look at his collection of suits that were damaged and now used as décor. Tony sat while looking into the hollow eyes of Iron Man. As he studied the suit, Tony felt the urge to be spontaneous and spun quickly in his chair and clapped. "Wake up." The monitors all came to life and Tony quickly started typing what his mind had come up with.

The door opened and Tony didn't even look up knowing who it was that had entered. "Well, you look better than your YouTube video."

He glanced over the screens at his best friend. "In case you're wondering, I've already gotten the lecture from Pepper, and you're in no place to be lecturing me at the moment."

"Hey, I'm not the one who was surrounded by strippers."

"With all my clothes on, don't forget that part."

Rhodes laughed. "Yeah. So, any word from Fury on the Stern problem?"

Tony shook his head. "No."

It was not the short and sweet answer that Rhodes was expecting. "No? Just no, not some long spill on how you're being kept in the dark and grounded, stuck at home."

Tony finished with a few strikes to his keyboard and he stood smiling before his friend. He put his hands on Rhodes' shoulders and smiled. "I'm changing." He then moved towards the door. Rhodes stood motionless at his friend's actions. "Are you coming?"

"Where?" Tony just smiled and bounded up the stairs.

By the end of the week Tony had a plan. Pepper was due to arrive from a Stark board meeting in New York, and only Happy and Jarvis knew what he was doing. Happy was supposed to be part of the ploy in delaying Pepper on her trip back to the mansion. They had the place picked out where he was supposed to pullover with a 'flat tire'.

Happy left as Tony was dressing in a simple Armani suit. One that Pepper had told him several times that was her favorite. As he adjusted his tie to perfection Rhodes stuck his head in. "Hey, I'm here and dressed, do you want to tell me what this is about?"

Tony grinned. "I'm going to ambush Pepper, and take her to the beach where I have a place set up with a little preacher and…"

"Wait, wait, wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Rhodes asked his eyes wide with shock.

"Yeah, I am." Tony slapped his friend on the shoulder as he walked past. "Come on Rhodey; let's let Pepper tame this beast of a man that I am." Rhodes shook his head and quickly followed his friend to the front door. Tony pulled open the door and was stopped in his tracks. "No, not now. I can't do this now I've got plans! Come back next week!"

Rhodes closed his eyes and suddenly felt bad for his friend as Fury blocked the open door. "We've got a situation."

"We? Yes, _we_ have a situation; I'm supposed to get married tonight!" Tony stepped forwards towards Fury.

"Well, I'm sorry, but we've interrupted a transmission coming from Stern's office. He's authorized the transport of the weapons you approved to be delivered near an area known for insurgent activities." Fury explained.

Tony groaned and turned around with both his hands in his hair. They watched on as Tony seemed to have a brief mental breakdown and scream out his frustration. Fury walked up behind Tony about to speak when Tony turned quickly and punched Fury across the jaw. Fury stumbled slightly as Tony then grabbed his hand.

"Feel better? 'Cause we got work to do." Fury followed Tony and Rhodes down to the infamous workshop. "Okay, head towards Kandahar, once our contact there gets us visual conformation of the person in direct contact with Stern, you two will move in for the grab."

"What about the weapons?" Tony spoke as he peeled his jacket and tie from his body.

"We'll deal with those later, we need to get Stern's contact out of play. That's the mission." Fury watched as both Rhodes and Tony suited up and took off.

Tony was still cursing Fury for his bad timing. "Jarvis, send Happy a text, tell him what's going on. And call Pepper for me." He listened to the ringing in his helmet and smiled when she picked up and greeted him. "Hey, Pep, so I'm not going to be at home. Fury stopped by and Rhodes and I are on our way to Afghanistan."

"Be careful Tony." Pepper spoke back to him. "Just come back to me in one piece."

He sighed and closed his eyes briefly. "I will." Tony paused again wishing he could have seen her before he left since she had been gone for three days, and he was going to be gone for God knows how long. "I love you Pep."

Pepper smiled and could hear the regret in his voice for not being home to greet her. "I love you too Tony."

Happy read the text from Jarvis moments before Pepper answered her call from Tony. He continued to drive back to the mansion and once there called the man Tony had arranged to marry them and explained the situation. All he could do now was do his job and keep Pepper safe until Tony returned.

Tony and Rhodes made it to the rendezvous point in Afghanistan an hour before the contact was supposed to make the exchange. They picked out an ambush point in one of the small abandoned buildings on the main road at the edge of town. They stood in the building and waited for the weapons to show.

"So, what's your plan?" Rhodes asked as he continued to survey the area.

"I don't know. Just grab the guy I guess."

"Not this, you know what I'm talking about."

Tony glanced over at the dark gray suit of his friend. "I don't know. I don't even know if it's what Pepper really wants."

Rhodes turned to look at Tony. "Stop bullshitting yourself, you know that woman is head over heels in love with you and has been for years." Tony sighed and turned his attention back to the village outside. "I'm just saying."

It was only another several minutes before the sounds of approaching trucks got their attention. Tony and Rhodes scanned over the large army vehicles. Several uniformed men sat in the cab and waited while a simple dark sedan pulled up next to them. A man climbed out and seemed to survey the area before motioning to the men in the trucks. They all exited the vehicles and stood by as another set of covered boxed trucks approached from the opposite side of the village.

"There must be more than a contact working on the inside. A civilian doesn't give orders." Rhodes thought aloud as they watched the scene unfold below them.

"You stay up here and cover me. I'm going to walk down there. Remember, don't kill him." Tony walked back down and on the sandy ground; his suit didn't make much noise.

There weren't many words spoken as the weapons were transferred. The contact only seemed to be there ensuring things went smoothly. The uniformed men were busy loading the crates of weapons while Tony stealthily strode up behind Stern's middle man.

"Hey!" One of the soldiers yelled as he noticed the large red iron figure.

Rhodes opened fire around the soldiers forcing them all to take cover. Tony grabbed the man. "You're coming with me." He quickly took off heading away from the gun fire. The man screamed as they buzzed the buildings and sped off. "Shut up, you're screaming like a little girl, and personally I'm embarrassed for you."

Once Tony was clear Rhodes turned and leapt out of the far window and engaged his thrusters. He was airborne leaving the soldiers and insurgents wondering what happened. He met Tony at their rendezvous point given to them by Fury. They stood over the man as he sat in the sand very still. He knew there was no escaping with Iron Man and War Machine standing within feet of him.

They didn't have to wait long before the sound of jet engines approaching filled the air. A large black plane landed similarly to a harrier jet, and once it powered down a ramp lowered. Fury walked off surrounded by several armed men. "Good job gentlemen. We'll take this piece of work back and see if he can make sense of another transmission we intercepted." Fury watched as the man was cuffed and escorted onto the plane. "You two want a lift?"

"Thanks, but I bet we can get home just fine ourselves." Tony said as he watched Fury walk back to his ride before he and Rhodes took off heading towards Malibu.

Pepper was finishing her day at the office with Katie. Occasionally she needed to be in the office on a Sunday. They had finished their work and were enjoying eating the take-out Happy had fetched for them. As they were cleaning up a knock came on the large wooden doors. Pepper narrowed her eyes knowing Tony wasn't back yet so she nodded to Happy.

He walked up to the door and opened it several inches. "May I help you?" Happy noticed several men all dressed similarly with badges hanging around their necks. He knew things were about to get really bad.

"I'm Special Agent Harrison, is there a Virginia Potts in this office?" He held up a piece of paper to the man blocking the door.

"What's this about?"

"I'm just here for Miss Potts."

Happy looked over the group. "Hold on, she was changing in the bathroom, I'll see if she's done." He closed the door and hoped the men wouldn't barge in. "The FBI's asking for you."

Pepper's mouth fell open as she had no idea why the FBI would be asking for her. "Let them in." She sat behind the large desk as Katie moved to stand next to her.

Happy opened the door and five agent poured in. "Virginia Potts?"

"Yes." She answered confidently.

"I'm Special Agent Harrison with the FBI, I have a warrant for your arrest."

"What!" Both Happy and Pepper exclaimed.

"There has to be a mistake." She pleaded.

"I'm afraid I'm just following orders. Would you come with us?" The agent held out his hand to usher Pepper towards the door.

She stood from her desk and handed her purse to Katie. As she approached Happy she made eye contact with him and he nodded. The agents surrounded her keeping Happy and Katie back. Katie followed closely while Happy skipped the elevator and started for the stairs.

His fingers flew over his phone's screen. He only heard it ring twice. "Tony! Where are you?"

"Passing LA, headed for the house."

"You've got to get to the office, right now! Pepper's being arrested by the FBI!"

"What!" Tony watched his HUD as it directed him to Stark Industries.

Rhodes noticed the sudden change of direction. "What's wrong?"

"The FBI has Pepper." Tony simply said as he pushed his suit to the limit with Rhodes right behind him.

Happy stood outside as the agents led Pepper out of the building. Katie moved to stand next to him. Pepper was about to look back to her friends when the familiar burst of Iron Man's thrusters pierced the air. All the agents stopped and looked around and suddenly saw what was coming but reacted too late.

Tony and Rhodes landed and engaged their weapons as the FBI agents drew their guns. Tony took aim on several as did Rhodes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, lower your weapons!" Agent Harrison stepped in front of Pepper and yelled at his fellow agents. "Everyone stand down!"

The agents slowly lowered their guns, but Tony and Rhodes, kept theirs locked on. Pepper took the piece of paper from the agent and stepped out from behind him. "Tony, it's okay."

His hands dropped and the faceplate flew back. "No, it's not. This is Stern's doing I know it is." He took the warrant from her and scanned over the document.

"I'm sure. But until I go with them, we won't know, will we?" She put her hand on his shoulder and moved to kiss him. Tony's face looked lost as she stepped away and into the back of the dark SUV.

The agents all climbed in and drove away. Tony turned around. "Happy, follow them. I'll have Jarvis get Mike to the FBI office, but I don't want you letting Pepper out of your sight." Happy nodded and ran to the waiting car. "Rhodey, let get these suits off."

They were in the garage in no time and Tony went straight to his motorcycle. Rhodes just watched as his friend sped off. He then rushed towards his own place calling Sherry on the way. Tony flew down the coast and as the speedometer exceeded 150 a highway patrolman whipped around. Tony knew he could easily outrun the officer and detoured off the main highway leaving the cop behind. Jarvis redirected him from his sudden change in direction but was able to get Tony to the FBI offices in LA quickly and safely.

Tony left his motorcycle parked next to the building on the sidewalk and ran inside. He glanced around and saw Happy sitting on a bench. "Where is she?"

"They have her in a holding room. Mike just got here." Happy stood and showed his boss where to go.

An agent took Tony to the room where Pepper and his attorney were talking in private. He entered after Mike told them he could be in the room. Tony pulled Pepper into his arms as she stood. They both seemed to relax more in the presence of the other. Mike cleared his throat and they both sat down. "Okay Tony, this warrant came from way up high."

"Stern?"

Mike nodded. "Pepper had her suspicions too. The warrant is for selling weapons to known terrorists and that is treason in the eyes of the government."

"We just captured Stern's middle man as he was selling my weapons to insurgents." Tony stated.

"Okay, well, getting bail for Pepper in the meantime may be tough, but I'm sure I can arrange for a house arrest arrangement."

"This is bullshit!" Tony yelled.

Pepper put her hand on his arm in hopes of calming him down. "Tony, it's better than the alternative. At least until you guys can get the information and proof you need to take Stern down."

Tony shook his head. "I'm so tired of this jackal trying to get at me through you instead of going toe to toe with me."

"You're Iron Man." She said.

"Iron Man or not, I can still kick his ass."

Mike shook his head. "I'll go plead your case to the federal judge in a few hours. Pepper just try and relax, and I'll put Happy in charge of him." He pointed to Tony as he stood.

Tony kissed her soundly before he had to leave. "I'm not leaving the building without you." She smiled at him as he walked out reluctantly. Pepper sat down once alone and began humming a tune she learned from her mother to calm her nerves.

It was four hours before Pepper walked out of the FBI office with an ankle tracker on her right leg. Tony loudly expressed his opinion as they left to anyone within hearing distance. He opened the door for her so she could climb into the waiting car. There were several members of the press on hand to take pictures and speculate. Tony then climbed on his bike and followed Happy as he drove Pepper back to their home.

A week had past and Pepper worked from home with the help of Katie while Tony would occasionally go to the office and sit in on boring meetings that Pepper herself could not attend. The day was slow and she had decided to sit out next to the pool and relax.

"You look comfortable." Tony said when he walked out on the smooth concrete patio surrounding the pool. He was even dressed for the occasion in a white tank top and black shorts.

"I needed to relax in silence." She turned her head towards him and lowered her sunglasses so he could see her eyes. "Unlike you who turns up your music loud enough to practically make your ear drums burst."

Tony smiled and sat down on the edge of her chair. "Well, I have something that can make you more comfortable." He looked over his shoulder and Fury stood next to an FBI agent. "Want to get rid of that tracker?"

"Yes." She swatted his arm and he laughed helping her to her feet.

They walked back inside and Pepper sat on the couch and set her leg up on the coffee table. The agent removed the tracker and left. Fury sat down across from her and Tony. "The informant had his records from Stern over the past six months. Money transfers, instructions, and lists of weapons. We've got more than enough to take Stern down for good."

"Well, I for one am glad. All I want is to get on with our lives." Pepper spoke before standing and returning pool side.

Tony waited until she was out of the room. "Is it really that easy?"

Fury shook his head. "Never is when it comes to high raking politicians. But what I can say for sure is that with the evidence it should make it easier." He stood and looked down at Tony. "Here."

Tony reached out and took the small business card. "What's this?"

"Be there in two months." Fury winked with his one eye and walked away.

Tony shook off the thought and set the card down before going outside. He noticed Pepper was lounging close to the pools edge. His bare feet carried him in her direction. "Cannon ball!"

He jumped into the water causing the splash to coat Pepper in water. She sat up immediately. "Tony!" He surfaced laughing as she lunged at him. Her momentum and weight pushed him under the water, but when they surfaced their lips were locked together.

Tony maneuvered them to the shallower end of the pool. Swim time was over; it was now time to play like adults.

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><p>Boom-chica-ow-ow! Lol so any guesses as to what was on the card? If not, then you're not planning on hitting the theaters May 4th. Cause at the stroke of midnight, awesome breaks loose!<p>

TDCSI


	15. Chapter 15

Okay, so sorry this is like months behind, but after watching a Marvel marathon at a local theater, that's right I said marathon. From 11:30 in the morning I watched all marvel movies right up to the midnight showing of The Avengers, in 3D. All on the big screen back to back. It was the best time I've had in a long time. So, because of this I may add that there's a teeny tiny spoiler or two in here that relates to the movie, but I'm sure if you're reading this, you've seen the movie. I plan on seeing it again myself, but without further adieu, The Bing Bang continues…

* * *

><p>Chapter 15<p>

Pepper sat at the desk in the joint office she shared with Tony at Stark Industries staring at her computer screen. The financial report from the past year had some ups and downs, but since Tony's accouchement of Iron Man, there's been nothing but green numbers. The building was nearly complete minus one small, or rather large hiccup that only Tony could remedy.

Katie walked in with another folder held out. "I'm sorry Miss Potts, the New York City council refuses to let the company install an arc reactor to power the building." She sighed as Pepper looked over the papers quickly. "I just don't know what else to do."

With a smile she handed the folder back to her assistant. "I'll let Tony take care of that problem."

The music blared loudly as Tony blindly typed on the keyboard and kept focused on the many screens around him. He was in tune and focused on his work. Rhodes watched his friend work in awe from beyond the glass doors. He typed in his passcode and entered the indoor concert.

_Well, if you think real beauty's on the outside_

_Well that's a far cry from the truth_

_Maybe all the information you received_

_Well, you should not believe that there's no proof_

_Save yourself from all the _

_Lies of the beautiful people_

_It's time to run from the _

_Lies of the beautiful people_

Tony noticed his friend approaching him and sat back. "Mute." The music went silent. "Gotta get away from the girlfriend huh."

"It's not like that."

"Sure it is, why else would you be here?"

"Can't I just come by and say 'hi'?"

"No, but hi." Tony smiled and turned his attention back to his work as Rhodes walked over to the War Machine suit. "Ah, so it's not me you miss but the suit."

Rhodes softly laughed. "So, you're moving to New York."

"It's temporary. Pepper's pride and joy is finally near completion. I'm going to take it like a honeymoon without the wedding." Tony grinned and waggled his eyebrows.

"And on that note…"

"You didn't?"

"I haven't said anything."

"Don't tell me."

"I haven't told you yet."

"Do I really want to know?" Rhodes narrowed his eyes at Tony. "Am I going to be an uncle?"

"What? Tony, no! My God no, well at least not yet." He grinned. "I'm going to ask Sherry to marry me."

"Ah." Tony sat back unmoved.

"Ah? That's all you've got to say is 'ah'. No, congratulations, hey, way to go buddy?" Rhodes waited for his friend's response.

Tony pursed his lips. "Well, congratulations."

"Thanks."

"I'll admit I do like her much better than the last one, what was her name?" Tony narrowed his eyes as he tried to think.

"Stop it; don't go there. This is different."

"Yeah, I'd say so; the last one practically had a mandatory curfew and tracker on you."

"That's enough, I'm serious." He looked at his friend and finally got through the childish side of Tony. "Next week at dinner on her birthday."

"Good timing. Well…" Tony stood and held out his hand. "Good luck." Rhodes shook his friends hand and smiled.

That evening Pepper walked into the mansion followed by Happy who set the bags of takeout in the kitchen. "Good evening Miss Potts." Jarvis welcomed her home.

"Hello Jarvis, please tell Tony that I'm home." She walked to the bedroom and began removing her attire for the day. After weeks straight of sitting at a desk or in a meeting room she was ready for a change.

"Hey."

Pepper screamed in shock. "Dammit Tony!" He looked at her with a grin almost satisfied that he frightened her. "I can't believe you. What are you doing in here?" She motioned to the large closet.

"I was just looking for what clothes I might want to take to New York."

"You won't be dealing with business deals. May I recommend casual clothes from your dresser? I'm not planning on dressing up much at all." Tony's eyes widened. "Not in that sense, get your mind out of the gutter." She slapped his shoulder.

"What can I say, I'm still a playboy." Pepper scoffed and removed her shit revealing to Tony her black lace bra. Tony whimpered at the sight and moved up behind her. "And I must say, I have the most stunning playmate all to myself." He kissed her neck softly and Pepper leaned back into his touch.

She moaned as Tony continued to kiss and lavish her neck. "Dinner's downstairs getting cold."

Tony continued kissing her. "I've got all I need to keep me warm right here." His lips kept moving on her neck and it was all Pepper could do to not sink to the ground.

While his lips were busy, Tony's hands moved down and unzipped Pepper's skirt and let it slip to the ground. He kept his hands occupied as Pepper turned to face him. She began unbuttoning his shirt and kissing his lips. Tony's slow seduction escalated into an inferno as Pepper yanked his shirt from his shoulders and began pushing him back out of the closet and towards their bed.

Tony pushed her panties off her hips as she pushed him down onto the bed. Pepper removed her bra and toed out of the black lace underwear. His eyes watched as she then unbuckled his belt and began unfastening his pants. The lights in the room dimmed slightly as Pepper slid his pants off his hips. She then moved to straddle him and lowered herself as his arms wrapped around her.

"God Tony, I need you." They kissed fiercely before Tony quickly rolled over so that he was in control. "Tony please." Pepper moaned.

Tony managed to remove the rest of his clothing before moving to her. Pepper released a groan of pleasure. For a moment Tony just kissed her neck, but then moved them further onto the bed and to a more comfortable position. Pepper gripped his shoulders with all her might as he pushed her to the brink over and over.

Eventually Tony pushed them both over the edge and he collapsed in her arms. Pepper's chest heaved as her heart raced with ecstasy and her lungs sought oxygen. Both were covered in a light sheen of perspiration as the arc reactor in Tony's chest emitted its soothing blue glow. Pepper ran her fingers over the device always grateful of its illumination as it kept Tony in her life.

"I'm sure your dinner's cold." She spoke with a smile of satisfaction on her face.

Tony picked his head up enough to look at her. "I guess that's what I get for having desert first." He returned her grin with one of his own.

The next morning Pepper woke alone. It was something that she had grown accustomed to as Tony didn't require much sleep unless he had been up for days on end. She showered and went to the kitchen and noticed that Katie and Happy were having an enjoyable conversation over coffee.

"Hi." Katie said as she noticed her boss enter the room. "I brought breakfast and…" She held out a folder. Pepper took the item and opened it and Katie waited for a reaction before continuing. "This morning's council decided having a Stark Industries tower operating in their city was worth the risk of the arc reactor."

"The arc reactor request for Stark Industries is approved as long as the reactor is no closer than 4,000 feet from any residential or business." Pepper stood in shock. "That's nearly a mile."

"Just over three quarters of a mile to be correct." Tony spoke up as he walked in and past Pepper for the assortment of pastries Katie provided.

"Tony, this is ridiculous. It's like they want us there, but don't want to reason with us." She shook her head and glanced at the report once again.

"Hey, they approved it, now the rest is up to me." They all looked at him and he grinned and winked. Tony took a handful of food and headed towards his shop leaving a kiss on Pepper's cheek as he past.

Pepper took several breaths before deciding it's a step in the right direction. She sat with Happy and Katie discussing the business on the house while they're gone.

Tony continued to work in his shop the remainder of the day. He and Jarvis went over the design of the Iron Man assembly bots that would reside in New York. While the multiple screens showed the existing area built. On the wall television Jarvis had on live coverage of the bike race taking place in Daytona. Tony occasionally glanced up to see how his bike was running.

While he was finishing up saving and finalizing the finished pieces that were to be fabricated Jarvis got his attention. "There's been a crash."

His eyes flew to the television in time to see several riders sliding along the track. He knew in an instant that one of them was Randy. He exhaled deeply as he watched. Randy got to his feet and began approaching the other rider. It was obvious that the rider caused the two of them to go down. Both bikes lay in heaps not far from where Randy and the other man were exchanging words.

Tony shook his head and watched as the rescue personnel arrived just in time to separate the two men before any one took a swing. He knew the race was over for his team and turned away from the screen. "Turn it off."

"Approximately twelve hours to completion of the assembly. They should be crated and ready for transport by morning." Jarvis changed the subject.

"How about the processors and such, where are they?" Tony questioned.

"The processors arrived this morning, the monitors and graphic imagers on scheduled for delivery this afternoon." The AI responded.

"Perfect. Are all of the sensors and cameras installed?"

"Affirmative. Everything is installed and awaiting your expertise."

Tony grinned. "Kiss ass."

Pepper packed several large luggage bags for both herself and Tony. She made sure they had everything they would need until a shopping trip was inevitable. After finalizing things with Katie that night she went to bed alone, but she didn't fall asleep. "Jarvis."

"Yes, Miss Potts."

"How much longer until he's done?" She rolled onto her side and glanced out the large window that overlooked the Pacific.

"Mr. Stark is currently assisting in the packing of the suit and bots to go to New York tomorrow. I'm not sure how much longer he will be." Jarvis spoke. "Would you like me to summon him for you?"

"No. No, let him work." Her eyes began to lose focus and she drifted off to sleep.

When Pepper woke Tony's side of the bed remained untouched. "Jarvis."

"He's still working."

"Did he sleep at all?"

"No, but he has accessed the espresso machine several times."

Pepper grinned and quickly dressed. She passed the kitchen and headed straight to Tony's dwelling. As she entered she didn't see any sign of him other than the music was playing loudly. Her feet carried her back towards his fabricators and sure enough she found him. He was placing parts into a large wooden crate and labeling them accordingly.

Tony continued to work but could sense her eyes on him. He knew that she wanted to leave before noon as they would lose four hours flying east. "Hey, I'm almost ready." He spoke with his back to her.

"I didn't expect you to work all night." She approached him.

"Yeah, well, this took a little longer than Jarvis' initial calculation." Tony slammed the lid down and used a large pneumatic staple gun to seal the crate. Pepper jumped slightly at each air powered staple Tony fired. He finished and turned to face her. "Okay, that's the last one."

Dummy moved in to push the crate outside for transport. Pepper watched before addressing Tony. "Good, 'cause I was thinking of going out for breakfast before heading to the plane."

Tony smiled. "Sounds good to me." He moved to stand in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. "Or…"

She tried pushing him back. "No 'or'. We need to get to New York." He grinned at her. "Go take a shower and we'll go get some food before we leave."

In record time Tony was cleaned and dressed. Happy drove them to a small breakfast bistro before heading to Stark Industries airstrip. He unloaded their luggage and took it onto the aircraft. Tony glanced as the last of his crates were loaded into the cargo area of the plane. Happy bid them good luck before returning to the mansion.

Tony laid back on the lounge and closed his eyes as the large jet engines powered up. Pepper sat down and fasted her seat belt while watching him. After several deep breaths Tony's breathing leveled out and he fell asleep moments after the plane took off. Pepper busied herself with ensuring transportation for them and the multiple large crates Tony had.

The first week in the new Stark tower was hectic. Tony furiously worked at getting the processors installed. By the second day Jarvis was online and fully functional in the building. Pepper had furniture delivered to their residence at the top of the tower. One of the deliveries was for Tony's new bar he had installed, and a variety of spirits were dropped off. She put his alcohol away herself while several movers arranged the furniture as she desired.

By the tenth day she had their residence furnished and functional, so she focused on the remaining areas of the tower. Tony was going through trial and error issues with his bots. Everything was working well except with the right boot. He had to stop walking so it could be removed. The glitch was driving him insane and after a full day of working on it with Jarvis, Tony had it fully functional.

He stood back and looked at his newest creation. "Damn, I'm good."

"Indeed sir, now at Miss Potts' request, we need to turn our attention to the arc reactor."

Tony scratched his head and stepped outside onto the balcony that overlooked the skyline of New York City. He pursed his lips and glanced out towards the bay. "Hey Pepper!" Tony yelled back into their penthouse.

"What?" She stepped out into the night air and joined him on the end of his assembly platform.

"Think they'll let me put the reactor out there?" His eyes never left the dark water.

"In the water?"

"Why not? It'll work, and if Stane comes back from the dead and blows it, it's under water." He turned and grinned at her.

"I guess we could try to negotiate it."

It took three days and after finding proper clothes to wear, Tony and Pepper were sitting before the New York City council. Tony had explained how the reactor was safe, and that the one at the factory in LA, was running without issue until it was sabotaged. He explained that with one under the water no one would even know it was there and that he could install a failsafe program should the device become damaged or be tampered with. He slouched in the chair and rolled his eyes as the council debated amongst themselves. Pepper sat next to him as he began to fidget.

"Stop it." She whispered. "I'm sure it will be fine." Tony stopped and glanced at her with jaw set. He needed to get his way, and Pepper knew it.

"Mister Stark, because of your company's history, and the jobs you expect to create in the very near future, this council has decided to accept your proposal." The speaker banged a gavel and Tony leaned back in his chair.

Two more weeks flew by. Pepper had put together an HR department with a list of what positions were needed to be filled. Applications began to flood her office, but luckily they were all scanned and Jarvis categorized them to assist Pepper in placing people accurately.

Tony was finishing up the reactor under the bay when Pepper called him. "I was going to order some dinner."

"Sounds good. Hey I'm almost done, wanna see how this baby's gonna work?"

"Tony, it's dark out."

"Exactly, that'll make it even more dramatic."

Pepper laughed. "Okay, hold on." She went over to his main computer. "Jarvis, you ready?"

"Servers are backed up and ready to power down."

She keyed in a few more commands. "Okay, and we're cutting city power." With the push of a button the entire tower went dark. Pepper sat in total blackness and waited. "Any time Tony."

"Hold on, I hit a speed bump."

"A speed bump? You're under water."

"Got it! Okay let it rip." He finished and blasted his way through the water and into the sky just in time to see his building come to life. "Looks great." He rocketed towards the platform.

"All systems are back online and the reactor is providing more than adequate power to the building." Jarvis announced as he ran diagnostics.

"Perfect, now food, I'm starving." Pepper said.

Tony landed and was stripped of his suit before entering. He checked over the screen to confirm Jarvis' information. "You know I think this calls for a celebration." Tony strolled over to his bar and poured two drinks. "So, the powers on, drinks are poured…"

"Food's on its way." Pepper smiled at him as he sat next to her and handed her a glass of champagne.

"Incoming call from Mr. Baffert." Jarvis announced.

"He knows we're here?"

"I told him where I was going." Pepper said as she picked up the phone. "Hi Bob." 'Bob' Tony mouthed. She swatted at him before the trainers words stilled her. Tony watched as the color all drained from Pepper's face. "Okay, well please keep me up to date on his progress." She hung up the phone and glanced up to Tony. "Dusty suffered colic on the way to the track. Bob took him to UC Davis and they are doing emergency surgery." Tony looked sympathetic and took up her hand in his as she spoke. "They won't know his chances of recovery until after they finish."

Tony continued to observe her actions. "Pepper, you really don't look good. Maybe you should…" He never got the rest of his words out as Pepper suddenly leaned over and vomited on the floor. "Ahh, clean up on aisle one." He avoided the soiled floor and lifted her from the couch. "Hand on Pep, we're almost to the bathroom." Just as Tony set her down, Pepper lunged for the toilet and vomited again. All he could do was hold her hair back as she emptied what little was in her stomach.

He helped her clean up and carried her to bed. "I'm sorry." She said weakly.

"Don't worry about it. Just rest, we've all been pushing ourselves a bit much lately." Tony sat next to her and ran his hand over her sprawled hair. Pepper fell asleep from the sudden exhaustion. "What's wrong with her Jarvis?"

"Just as you stated, it could be exhaustion, possibly she experienced a sudden case of vertigo from the news Mr. Baffert gave her." He offered.

Tony sat with Pepper for thirty minutes ensuring she was asleep before returning to the living area. He cleaned up the vomit and the drinks he had poured, as celebrating was out of the question at the moment, before returning to Pepper's side.

The sun shone in the room and softly blanketed the sleeping couple. Pepper was the first to wake and opened her eyes slowly. She glanced around without moving afraid she might suddenly get sick once again. Tony moaned and pulled her in tighter to his body. "Sleep."

"I can't anymore." She slowly pried herself from his grasp and sat up.

"Feel better?" Tony asked as he sat up himself and wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah, Jarvis, any word from Bob?" Pepper spoke as she then stood up and stretched.

"Not from Mr. Baffert, but the surgeon called and said that your horse made it out of surgery and was in recovery. I have his number if you would like to call him back." Jarvis offered.

"Thanks, maybe in a little while." She ventured off to the bathroom while Tony sprawled out over the bed.

That day they spent their time venturing through New York City. Pepper did a bit of shopping, while Tony paid for it all. They enjoyed lunch at a small diner, mainly to try the chili dogs. When they made it home an unexpected surprise was there waiting for them.

"Mr. Stark, Miss Potts."

"Phil, it's so good to see you again." Pepper said as she approached the agent.

"Phil? I thought his first name was Agent?" Tony spoke as he watched the interaction between them. "What are you doing here?"

"Director Fury sent me, we have a situation."

* * *

><p>So, here's the plan, I can't possibly recollect the movie, although the fight between Iron Man and Thor was amazing, I'm going to pick this up after the movie ended. Sound good? Good, 'cause you don't have a choice in the matter.<p>

TDCSI


End file.
